EvilEmpryss

Re: An Open Request for Scenario Assistance I played a centaur character, and the best thing to remember about them is that any weapon which can be used on horseback can be used by a centaur! Check out equine martial arts, as well. Imagine a centaur trained to perform some of the maneuvers that they teach Lippizzaners! Anything a horse can do, they can do better (and without a Riding check!). If you need it, I can provide a copy of my centaur's character sheet (or at least the relevant parts, she kinda focused on a Greek-ish campaign)

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... From a sci-fi game where our characters were a group of military and civilians trying to survive on a colony planet. There were - no kidding - Aliens and Predators infesting the planet, and we had already lost most of our technology and ammo when we stumbled into a Predator hunting lodge. We quickly realized we couldn't all make it out alive. Fortunately, this was the last night of gaming for one of our group (he was joining the National Guard). He had already decided he wanted his tough-as-nails sergeant to go down in a blaze of glory, so he volunteered to cover our retreat. With much pride and some quick emotional goodbyes, our characters dumped all their spare ammo on him and ran. The Sarge stood his ground valiantly, but it wasn’t long before the Predators overwhelmed him. As our characters turned back to get a last look, the lead Predator picked the Sarge by his bandoleers. Before the GM could say a word, the Player shouts out: “Sarge is goin’ down like a Marine… no gutting, no snapping his neck. SPINE ME! SPINE ME YOU PU**Y!!!” He showed us the way a true hero dies!

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Yeah, the GM earlier described a small convertible sliding underneath the semi while trying to avoid the raptors. The shadow-powered PC was just using it to give her a shadow to teleport to, not to hide from the raptors.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Our Super characters were fighting a pack of velociraptors. They can't even scratch my brick's defense, but they're still pretty tough. The shadow-power character, who depends mostly on subtlety and not getting hit for defense, surveys the scene. PC: I use my shadow teleport to appear under the semi. GM: Uh... the raptors are swarming the semi. PC: Yeah. I appear under the truck. GM: There are raptors all around the truck. PC: Yeah...? GM: O-kaaaaay. You appear under the truck (rolling dice) The raptors make their perception rolls. (more rolling) And they make their teamwork rolls. (more dice) And, since you made a full move and appeared in the same phase they move, they make their multiple-attacker rolls and six of them swarm you. My PC, speaking to the other PC's father: I don't know what happened. One moment she was standing next to me, and the next I heard screaming from under the truck and the raptors were making a happy meal out of her. After finding her mangled body, my character became a vegetarian!

Years ago I was in a campaign that pulled from just about every sci-fi movie or show ever made. One of the major components was a Psi-Corps faction, as well as the esper underground that opposed them. I came up with a group consisting of a dozen espers, all with different powers, but they cover the full range of mental powers available in the book. Each one is a specialist, with maybe two or three powers each and perfectly normal physical stats, and a codename to describe their abilities. I've kicked around the idea for years, but I kept thinking that they would be too powerful to throw against any of the groups I've been in, even in a Supers campaign. Has anyone ever run an all-esper group, either of heroes or villains? How did it work out?

Re: To Have a Campaign Map or not? I ran a group once where the players asked if they could have a map of the area. Since they were a group of orphans just heading out on a cross-country adventure, I said no. One of them asked if it would be okay if he made a crudely drawn map by copying maps he could borrow from other travelers (the group had no money to purchase one for themselves). I figured that would be okay, and would make for good roleplay, so I said yes. He worked diligently at conning people into letting him see their maps, and made a composite map from local area maps that other travelers had. The "crudely drawn map" he made at the game table (no scanning, no computer modification) wound up looking like a photocopy of the actual map! He didn't even use graph paper, just a blank page and a scrap piece of paper with reference measurements marked out on it. It became a big joke in the group when the characters had to reference their "crudely drawn map"!

Re: Super! Absorbant! Sponge!!!!! Yeah, I thought about that, but from the info that was first supplied, it's clear the character is an accountant. Still, it could have been his first job or a hobby!

Re: Challenge: "Riddle Me This!" How about this: The Avian Flu epidemic is actually a conspiracy manufactured by the beef industry in order to stave off falling profits due to Mad Cow disease... a disease created by a certain faction of the poultry industry to help raise poultry sales!

Re: Cool Pulp Images Here's a link for some really good quality movie stills and promotional shots from old movies. Some of these are from the teens and twenties... you just have to take some time to dig. The great thing is that they're not just the famous people... there are a lot of pics of people I've never heard of. http://www.doctormacro.info/Galleries.htm

Re: Hero Points We use a variation on Hero Points (we call them Plot Points). The trick is that you are alloted a certain number per game arc or per game night. You can use those, and then you can go in the hole for more, if you're willing to take the penalties. See, if you go in the hole for points (we call them Payback Points), then you will have something bad happen to your character. Depending on how many payback points you have, you could wind up with a minor annoyance (wardrobe malfunctions in front of the press, roses meant for someone else are delivered to your character and the DNPC significant other has a fit assuming you're seeing someone else) to traumatic (permanent disads or even death; one character was declared a planetary traitor and exiled to the orbiting space station). The players really like them, mostly 'cuz, even if the player doesn't use them, it's nice to have the safety net if you need to make a reroll at a critical moment. We've used them in one form or another in Supers, Pulp, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi genres.

Re: Super! Absorbant! Sponge!!!!! Some Spongebob ideas: Reputation: Theme Song! (positive or negative, depending on whether or not you like that kind of thing) PS: Play Nose Flute Enraged: When work is insulted, 8-, 14- Psych Lim.: Slavishly Loyal to friends Psych Lim.: Takes pride in anything he does

Re: Super! Absorbant! Sponge!!!!! You may not need more Disads, but a Vulnerability to Heat attacks would be appropriate. You ever try working with a dried-out sponge? Change Environment: water puddle (really messes with characters with electrical powers -- and everyone near them!)

Re: What would you do? what would you do? Explain to this guy that he is fatally mistaken if he thinks he can threaten my special order Kitten-of-Doom. I then give it the command to attack; it scratches the poor psychopath, instantly flooding his system with a fast-acting neurotoxin. I feed it nibbles, apologize to the shop owner for the fuss, and take Whiskers back to my base. Rules for Evil Empresses #18: My poison-fanged or -clawed beast minions will not be spiders, snakes and ravens, but kittens, goldfish, and canaries.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Yep. With the expected results, of course. Better, though, was the stunned look on my husband/GM's face.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... During a particularly exciting game when I scored a solid hit on a bad guy, I yelled out: "That's what you get for sucking off your teammates!" This isn't as bad as it sounds, though... really! My character had just witnessed the villainess trying to recover from a previous hit by draining stun from one of the other villains (thereby knocking the other villain out).

Re: Super Names Death Tribble: "Canadian Cougar"?!?! I immediately pictured an over-50 supervillainess, growling and purring as she tries to capture handsome young superhero studs! Hrmmm... I may have to use that........ How about The Evil Empryss? She comes with a whole family of fellow villains: The Evil Overlord The Beautiful-but-Wicked Daughter The Beautiful-but-Innocent Daughter (twins!) The Handsome-but-Evil Son The Diabolical High Priest The Backstabbing Evil Ally (drat the Hero for turning them to Good!) And, of course, numerous Evil Minions These were unabashedly ripped off from the "If I Am Ever the Evil Overlord" series, of which I am very fond.