Proemial

Hmm, seems like I messed up the attachment. I'll try again.

Been playing with Poser for a little while now as a way of getting my character images out of my head. This is the only one that I'm even close to being happy with (even if the guy desperately needs to talk to the wardrobe people).

Its a long-lasting tracer, essentially, as it carries their face and fingerprints and such. DNA markers, I would guess as well.

Hello All, I'm slowly in the process of building up a background for a Superhero milieu. Right now I'm working on a group of morally ambiguous types who all share the same flavour of teleportation. This teleportation is highly stealthed (as if vanishing from one point, and appearing somewhere else needed to be). The idea is, that people with pre-cognition don't normally get a chance to detect the Teleporter's arrival. Further, at their destination point they have no "visible" power effect other than fading silently into existence. At their launch-off site, however, they leave behind a molting. Empty human skin shells, that look like the teleporter in question. This shell is persistent, meaning that is real and will eventual rot away like dead skin. Until then, it will remain, can be stored in refrigerated conditions, etcetera. Any ideas on how to construct this?

Via Dictionary.com "Dadaism: A European artistic and literary movement (1916-1923) that flouted conventional aesthetic and cultural values by producing works marked by nonsense, travesty, and incongruity." So... Uh. How about Foxbat on that one?

Apepe, the serpent that sought to devour the sun, plunging the universe into eternal darkness.

"What is Escape Velocity?" PhysLink.com Link Supplied Notice the line: "Given that initial speed, an object needs no additional force applied to completely escape Earth's gravity"

In case you care: 5" with a x4096 NCM will do it 1" requires a x32768. one step less is just a tidge under the required speed. Yes, I am procrastinating from doing work. Not too hard to tell is it?

Speaking from a physics perspective: Escape Velocity is a "point velocity" term. It is the velocity you would need, at ground level, to overcome *all* the slowdown imposed by gravity all the way up to orbit. (25 thousand miles per hour, 40 thousand kilometers per hour) It doesn't cover constant acceleration nor speed maintenance. It would be interesting, however, to have a character that could point launch themselves at escape velocity: Enough flight to cover that much speed (I'd go with NCMs, less hexes to buy, and who really can maneouver at that speed), with the disadvantages of "No turning" "Stops only when hits things" "Cannot decelerate" "stupid to use in any direction but straight up"

I'll take that as a compliment.

Aha! That mostly certainly does clear things up in my muddled mind. I'm sure I'll get the hang of this eventually.

So, a "partially limited" power with custom limitations. Seems easy enough Thanks

Huh, thanks peeps! I could have sworn, though, that it costs 2" of flight to go up. However, I'm perfectly willing to admit I'm wrong. Fairly new to the Heroes, having only picked up the FREd last week. Thanks again.

Being a Canadian, I'll post a few tongue-in-cheek ideas. I doubt anyone but Canadians will get them, but hey Please excuse any horrible french, it has been some time since I've used it. Sovereignty and le Seperatiste Unity and Diversity - "For Peace, Order and Good Government!" "Icons" (From B.C.) Afghaan Dream, Cali Miss, Electric Haze, and Fast Freddie (From NFld) The Rock, Toutans (Spelling?) (From Ontario) Clawbacks, Cutbacks (Manitoba) Brandon Man! "At The Center Of It All!"

Okay, next question. Yeah, brain got going. Been surfing the FREd and have been trying to figure out how a character gets into Orbit. What speed would be necessary, given that gravity eats 1" of flight for each 1" travelled upward. I'm assuming Flight as the method to attain orbit. Obviously, someone could use a Teleportation power

My brain has been idly producing odd power combinations for the last couple days. The one that stuck in my head is this: How would one go about having a power whose "charges" cause a depletion in another non-charged power that the character possesses. For instance: Power Armor Bob flies by use of attached rocket packs. They have unlimited fuel (due to his Niftium Engine). However, he can cause the rocket packs to detach and strike like missiles (RKA, or a PD affecting EB. Makes little difference). Each time he uses a rocket attack, his maximum flight speed decreases. When he is out of rockets, he can neither fly, nor fire off more rockets. Though, he could return to his Secret Underground Lair and produce more rockets for his armor. Thoughts?

I would be wary of using the terms "good" and "evil" in reference to Aztec (and other Mesoamerican) gods. Huitzlipochtli, was the hummingbird god mentioned. God of Sun and War, he was the pre-eminent god (along with Tlaloc) of the Aztecs. Without him the world would cease to exist. True he survived on the hearts and blood of humans, but the Aztecs believed that many (if not all) the gods needed human blood to survive. Tezcatlipoca, the jaguar god, was the god of warriors, and eternal youth. Was also a god who was bent on pushing things to annihiliation in order to cause rebirth. Certainly more along the "villain" theme, but again not quite black/white. Hmmm, reminded of Marvel's Apocalypse. However, again, the universe wouldn't exist without him. Through the interaction of Tezcatlipoca and Quetzecoatl, the universe was made. Wow, sorry, somewhere I turned this into a anthropology lecture. :/

If you are going with an Aztec theme for El Dorado here are some Nahuatl words the might fit: Pilli (Prince/Knight/Gentleman, sorta) Tecuh-tli (Lord) Temactiani (Teacher) And for the arrogant superhero: Cuallotl ("goodness") Teotl (Marvelous, Wonderful. In "modern" versions of nahualt, this means "God") For the Villain in all of us: Tlacatecolotl (Devil) Colotl (Scorpion) Coatl (Snake)

Patriot The irony of discussing this topic through this particular medium (My sincere apologies to QUARK) is quite amusing, though I am sure that the remainder of the readership are taking notes on our conversation. However, back to the topic at hand. Team Vanguard seems to be quite impressive, not that I had any doubts. You certainly will run a hard bargain against anyone else. I am seriously considering the matter. I must admit that I find the offer attractive mostly for points two, and nine through eleven. I am curious about this "body-slide" though. I am capable of extremely high-speed aerial maneouvering. If I were to be subject to a "body-slide" would the "danger room" be able to control any wild inertia, to prevent a lethal impact with the walls? To calm any fears, I should assure Team Vanguard that I have only lost control -- gone "bezerk" -- a total of four times since the incident with Parasite. Each of these four times was of short duration, lasting no more than a few minutes, though I was still quite destructive. Since I am confident that the readership of this esteemed publication already is quite aware of my capabilities, I will outline my c.v. for Team Vanguard as a form of pre-application. Unlimited range high-speed flight. I have been clocked at 4x the speed of sound (measured at sea level, 15 C) at my maximum velocity in atmosphere. My flight mode is non-inertial, and as such I am capable of zero-motion hovering, 180 degree non-curving turns, and instant full range omni-directional acceleration. Outside of major gravity wells (near-planet, for example) I can attain supra-relativistic speeds during which my maneouverability and reaction time drops dramatically, though I am protected from incidental destruction by stray hydrogen atoms and particulate matter. I'll note that there is no time-dilation effect when attaining those speeds, as I do not use a "conventional" method for bypassing Einsteining special relativity. I am hardy in most environments. I need no special equipment to survive in hard vacuum, polar conditions, nuclear reactors, or solar coronas. I have neither the need to eat, nor breath. I have yet to test my high-pressure resistances as my capability to maneouver is obviously hindered underwater. I have tested my carrying capacity to 2.5 tonnes, and am capable of carrying this weight even at top flight speed. Carried objects suffer no integrity loss, due to the nature of my flight (solar-harnessed gravimetric control fields). I have minor resistances, enabling me to ignore most medium arms fire (both mundane and energy-projection form). I should note that this resistance will not protect me from a high-speed impact caused by my own flight powers. This has been tested, and I do not wish to be laid up in hospital again for that amount of time. My abilities to channel solar plasma have been severely limited since my encounter with Parasite. I theorize that he has somehow managed to siphon off a great deal of my power, and is capable of using it for himself. My current projection ability summons bolts of high-energy plasma capable of melting most mundane substances. This plasma, as I have had the unfortunate luck to learn, is lethal to unprotected individuals. I can project in a number of modes, including a rapid burst fire mode, a more powerful shorter range single beam, and an area projection centered on myself. I am also capable of constraining the plasma to a field around my hands, which affords me a devastating hand-to-hand capability. However, this field takes some time to build up, and I am not capable of using the plasma in both close-field and ranged mode simultaneously I hold a degree in Journalism (Columbia), and a Masters in High-energy Physics (Marseille). I am fluent in English, French and Italian. I am currently studying Arabic, Spanish and Tagalog. I have no family members, nor loved ones, who could conceivably be used against me. None survived my initial rampage. Those friends and loved ones that have entered my life since my rampage are quite capable of handling themselves. I will convey a complete printer-friendly c.v. under seperate, more secure cover to Team Vanguard's recruitment office. Thank you for this opportunity to prove myself, once more, as a useful member of the community. Seraphim

Patriot I thank you for your generous offer. However, I feel that my presence might cause problems in your ranks. Many amongst the community lost friends and loved ones when I went berserk, and most still hold that against me. I wouldn't want to be the cause of a rift in your organization. However, I am wondering, what sort of psychiatric/medical coverage does Vanguard offer? Seraphim

Ex-Hero seeking direction Dear QUARK I am having something of a dilemma: A few years back I started my career as a Hero. You may remember some of my exploits in the Pacific Rim theatre, and that messy business involving the orbital war for Earth's magnetic field. Without meaning to trumpet myself too loudly, I did manage to kick a few world-conquerering schemes drummed up by so called geniuses. However, a few months back I got possessed by one your villainous comrades. Nice chap by the name of Parasite. Sadly his possession went a bit awry, and resulted in me going on a murderous rampage up the Eastern Seaboard of the United States for a few months. Many innocent people died, as well as some heroes and villains. Since the rampage, my old friends don't want to associate with me. In fact, many of them consider me no better than you murderous scum. Anyway, to the point, I'm seeking some way of drowning the gnawing guilt that sits in my soul. Since I've noticed that you villainous types rarely seem to have attacks of conscience, I'm wondering if the villain route would be the way to go for a cure? So, if anyone out there is in need of a helper who can fly faster than fighter jets, and can channel the inferno of the sun in order to slag aircraft carriers and small towns, please contact me. Seraphim