DusterBoy

Re: Urban Fantasy and HERO Read Terry Pratchett's "Watch" sequence for another take on urban fantasy. This may be only me, but I've never considered a modern day setting to be essential for urban fantasy, just a city environment which the PCs don't leave that often - if at all.

Re: Western Hero

Re: Martial Arts sub-genre settings? A way to deal with guns might be this: have the PCs' martial arts include moves to take away their opponents' guns - something along the lines of Krav Maga or Bujinkan Taijutsu (ninjutsu). When I was doing ninjutsu we were told you don't have to beat a bullet, you only have to beat the guy with the gun. We were also taught that if someone shoves a gun in your face pretend to go to jelly (probably not a lot of pretending required) to make the guy lower his guard and then you can take it away from him. Involved covering the gun hand, wrist locks and making sure the bugger couldn't pull the trigger. (I hate living in Oxford. There's nothing decent going on here and I can't drive to where it is. Otherwise I'd still be going to lessons.)

Re: Pulling Authority & Other Genres Gee, and here I was thinking that superheroes acted out of a sense of social and moral responsibility. Y'know, doing the right thing because it's the right thing to do (circular argument, I know) and being an example to live up to, something to strive to be and not lowering yourself to the level of the bad guys. And yes, I know that before the CCA, Superman and Batman were very different characters. It's unfashionable, I know but I believe that mercy, compassion, remorse and pity are also heroic qualities. I mean, come on, where's the moral high ground here? Y'know the position superheroes are supposed to be holding because they're supposed to be the good guys? Check out http://www.pulpanddagger.com/pulpmag/editorial68.html for a different view on Dr Frederic Wertham, the CCA and responsiblity in the comic book industry. Or I do I have this all wrong, gentlemen?

Re: Sentry Is this the same Sentry that popped up in the "New Avengers" comics a while back and the entire main storyline seemed to be centred around his rehabilitation?

Re: Who is the Champs Univ. Equivalent of . . . Tyrannon the Conqueror? Or is he not a temporal threat?

Could someone please explain adders/limitations to me, 'cos I've never been able to get it straight. I think I understand +/-1/2, etc, but I don't understand how +/-1, etc works. I would most appreciate a clear, detailed explanation of how this works. Thanks, Dusterboy

Re: Music from out of this World "Not of this World" is an album by Joe Satriani. And if you're going to mention Notorious B.I.G. you should mention Tupac Shakur as well. Or Jam Master J from Run DMC. Didn't Richie Valens go down in the same plane crash that killed the Big Bopper? Not forgetting John Paul Jones from Led Zepp and of course - Freddie Mercury.

Re: Help Me Populate A Creepy Hotel

Re: Help Me Populate A Creepy Hotel If we're not done yet, here's my contribution . . . The Three On the Run They show up one day in a perfectly normal fashion: a woman in her mid-forties, a young man in his late teen/early twenties and a young woman of the same age. All three have dark hair, are dressed mostly in black and the young man and older woman have a hunted expression on their face. The PCs overhear their names when they check in - the young man is called "John" and he refers to the older woman as "Mom". The young woman's name is Cameron and she calls the older woman "Sarah". John and Sarah are good looking, but it's the young woman who's the real looker, with something of a baby doll look about her and she wears her hair straight down to her waist. She stands out with her behaviour, too. When she talks to the PCs, she always looks straight at them, unless she's doing something which requires her attention. She seems cold, almost callous, speaks in a matter of fact manner, almost a monotone and she's blunt to the point of rudeness. Plus there's a lot about modern culture she doesn't seem to get. They're clearly on the run from someone, which includes the FBI, but the FBI seems to worry them less than a man they call "Cromartie" who seems intent on killing them all, but John in particular. Oh yes, and they're carrying holdalls which seem to be really heavy, although Cameron has no problem with them. In fact, for her build she seems inordinately strong. The way the three talk, it makes the PCs think they're full of guns . . . (No need to give rep for this, since it's blatantly obvious where I've ripped these three off from).

Re: Dr. Cross (Else Earth's Obligatory NaziMastermind) Okay, I'm officially running away, whimpering. Dr Cross is a monster!

Re: Good Luck, Superchuck Does OddHat know that the movie "Flesh Gordon" is a sexual spoof/parody of "Flash Gordon". Or is that the point . . . ?

Re: Snake men I would suggest you check out 5th Ed FH's Monster Minions and Marauders - there's write-ups for a Lamia, Lizard-Folk and a Naga. These may give you some ideas. I guess it depends on how "snakey" you want to make this guy. I hope this helps.

Re: WWYCD:Little Girl Lost I don't have a character in play (plenty of concepts, though), but I thought I'd reply anyway . . . Bear in mind the future shock caused by going from the Stone Age to the contemporary era with no pauses. How do you explain the modern world - especially the concept of money and consumerism and laws - to a person who has absolutely no frame of reference to understand such things? For myself (and my characters tend to have the same baseline mentality as I do), I would explain that she has grandparents back in another world and that she is an important person back there, like a tribal chief. However, I would make no move to forcibly remove the girl from her adoptive family, especially if I saw she was happy and that her "new" parents loved and cared for her. PS: the term "future shock" was coined by the futurist Alvin Toffler in the 1970s to describe the disorientation and fear or at least deep-seated unease caused by an increasingly rapidly changing society. Kind of like a temporal version of culture shock, only you can't go back.

Re: Idea: Super Hero "Morality scale" Yeah, but would you open fire on the mob to defend their victims - even with non-/less-than-lethal weaponry?

Re: where do the villains get the MONEY? Yeah, his name was Crassus. Hence the word "crass". The same guy to whom a certain G. Julius Caesar owed 25 tons (yes, tons) of silver when he invaded Gaul.

Re: Genres HERO GAMES may want to avoid (intended to be humorous) Yup, played that one for six years. No fun at all. On a lighter note: "Mythbusters" HERO - you play as a member of a team dedicated to proving/disproving myths - movie, urban, social (sayingsand whatnot) etc. Required skill: PS: Special FX engineer. Suggested disad: Thinks science was invented to blow stuff up (C, S). This show rocks. BTW: Royal Marine SBS beatsUS Navy SEALS.

Re: Challenger Thanks Kenn, I appreciate the advice.

Re: The Candy Striper Yippee! (Where's that Praying to Heaven for There to be a God smiley?)

Re: Cool Guns for your Games No cartridge is useless if you go for a head shot. Mossad use .22 LR-callbre handguns for assassination work. Plus, a tiny gun you can carry concealed and no-one knows you have is far preferable to a hand cannon you have to leave at home. Derringers in Magnum calibres have never made much sense to me, though, nor have snubby versions of big Magnum-calibre revolvers. Personally, I would feel much more comfortable and secure with something "small" (say 9mm/.45 ACP-calibre), which I could handle with absolute confidence, rather than a hand cannon which I was scared to use because I kept damaging my wrists. As Colonel Jeff Cooper, founder of Gunsite wisely pointed out "Two hundred misses is not firepower. One hit is firepower."

I don't play, but I have a team of heroes called "the Centurions", kind of like the X-Men. One of them, "Challenger" a brickish energy projector is modelled on DC Comics' Damage. Essentially, the more solar power he absorbs, the more powerful his force fields and energy blasts become, the faster he can fly and the stronger he gets. Can you give me suggestions on how to model this using HERO rules. Much obliged DusterBoy

Re: ST: How Not To Do Homages (Trivia) Lemme guess - you're not 7 of 9's biggest fan? . . . But you gotta admit - at least they got rid of Janeway's damn fool hair do from Season 1 to 3. Or as Carrie Fisher would have said "Hair don't".

Re: Elementary, My Dear Watson See David Burke and then Edward Hardwicke (my favourite) as Dr Watson against Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in the British ITV adaptation of the stories. Some say Jeremy Brett's interpretation of Holmes is the best yet. Certainly Burke and Hardwicke fulfill your wish to see an intelligent, competent Watson.

Is anyone playing "Champions" in Oxford, England? I'd really like to get a chance to join a gaming group, but it would have to be accessible by public transport because I can't drive.

Re: 'Smells like Teen Spirit'? BatMan: The Animated Series rocked. It would be a great basis for a street level campaign - with or without powers.