csyphrett

Re: Walking With Strangers 2 Quin Martin wondered how he had been talked into the situation he was about to deal with as the Question Man. How had he become a hero in the first place? He should be doing research now instead of thinking about the meeting he was about to go into. He decided to blame Odd Dorfman. He was the man who had started all this. Odd had met someone in trouble, and had volunteered Quin to help him out. Then he had asked Quin to at least talk to the man about his problem. Oz Mike Michaelson had urged him to follow up and go to the meeting. Quin decided that Oz Mike shared the blame for this situation. Quin pulled his mask on. Odd had pulled it out of his hat when the group that had saved Marlowe had decided to stay together. It was a clear sheet that would protect his face while rendering it featureless. The rest of his disguise was a simple suit and hat. The long coat necessary for Minnesota weather made his body almost as featureless as his face. Anonymity would help him in the long run. The person he was meeting stood out in the small bar crowd. He had gotten a seat at a booth at the back of the place. He carried weight that could have been okay if he was forty years younger. His face spoke of bulldog tenacity. His glasses said he was well on his way to being blind. Quin made his way to the booth, pushing through the young crowd trying to have a drink after work. He kept his collar up to cover the mask so no one would freak out at the faceless man. He settled into the booth. The other man looked up, smiled at the disguise. "You must be Odd's friend." The older man extended a hand. "I'm Darby. Frank Darby." "I'm the Question Man." Quin shook the hand, not needing his special power to know the man was a former policeman. "What can I do for you, Mr. Darby?" "I hope you can help me solve an old murder." Darby sat back, waving a waitress over to take an order for a beer. Quin blocked his face with a hand until she had left. "Why don't you start at the beginning?" Quin blocked his face again when the waitress returned with the beverage while the old man arranged notes on the table in front of him. "It started almost forty years ago." Darby looked his notes over through his thick eyeglasses. "I walked a beat then. I found the body while walking my patrol." "Hold on." Quin held out his gloved hand. He took the notes and scanned them, memorizing each fact with a glance. "Let's go. You can show me what you're talking about." Quin handed the notes back before standing and heading for the door. Of course Odd had wanted him to get involved. Who else could solve a mysterious crime than a man with all the answers? All that was needed was the right questions. Quin waited on the sidewalk, hat pulled low. Darby walked out of the saloon, parka wrapped around his big body. He walked over, looking puzzled. "What do you think?" Darby frowned. "Can you help me?" "I think it has been a long time to try to find out what happened, and yes, I can help you, if you have the right questions." Quin looked down at the sidewalk. "Why don't you walk me through your report at the scene?" "You think I'm crazy." Darby's frown deepened. "Anything we come up with won't be admissible." Quin started walking. "Are you sure you want to delve into this?" "I have to know." Darby shrugged, walking along, keeping pace easily. "This is the only one I couldn't crack. I have to know who and why." "Let's walk then." Quin knew the city had changed in the last forty years, new companies exchanging services and products across the border had caused a bubble boom that had been replaced with several strong companies that helped keep employment up for the expanding population. "I thought you knew everything." Darby glanced at the new buildings as they walked, already walking back in time as they went. "I know answers to questions but what's the point if I don't know what I'm telling you." Quin paused, checking his mental map. "What do you remember about that night?" "It was cold as anything." Darby looked back, not even checking his notes. He had already read them hundreds of time before this. He knew what they said by heart. "It was as dark as the pit, and we were asked to look for vagrants that might have frozen in the alleys and culverts." "Show me where you found the body." No wonder Odd had wanted Quin to help out with this. "Right." Darby smiled then. "It's a few blocks over. That's why I picked Kerr's as a meeting place." Quin nodded, glad that his guess had been confirmed.

Re: Walking With Strangers Here it is, Bub. http://herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1586718#post1586718 CES

Re: Rooftop Travel I believe that I have also seen heroes who use this with flight as a superleap, as extreme balance, and vertical climbing like Jackie Chan's ability to move around in his movies. CES

Re: Walking With Strangers Oh no, Bub. This is going to be the Great Lake Avengers vs. the Masters of Evil. I refer you to the earlier story on the board. CES

1 Staff Sergeant Blue Baloo knew he was going to die. He paused on the brink of a precipice, a cold Minnesota wind whipping his Air Force uniform around his bear-like body. Gray hair sprouted from his skull like short porcupine quills. He glanced over a massive shoulder. Somewhere in the forest behind him, a group of professional hunters was closing in on where he stood. He couldn't outrun them. That had been the plan at first. Now he knew it was hopeless. His keen mind boiled everything down to two choices. He could wait for the hirelings to catch up with him. That would put him at the mercy of the men hunting him. They hadn't shown much of that quality so far. Or he could jump into the raging water far below where he stood and take his chances. If he lived, the roaring stream would take him to the small dam that made Lake Marlowe possible. Then he could find a phone to call for help. The big hitch in that plan was living through the ride. "Hold, varlet." The booming voice made up Baloo's mind. "I wish to bandy words with you." Baloo glanced at the furry bulk of the berserker known as Fenris Ulf, wrapped in fur, and horned helmet. The gleaming two bladed axe looked like a child's toy in his fist, but was actually almost as long as the sergeant's arm. Gleaming blackness burned from the eyes in the wolf face he wore. Baloo jumped off the edge of the cliff. He had time to hope he didn't hit a rock when he did hit. Then he struck the water and went under. The giant bounded to the water, prepared to throw his terrible axe with a mighty swing of his arm. He paused. There was no sign of the sergeant. He let the axe drop down to his side. "Where is he?" Mr. Wolf arrived in his neatly pressed, black BDUs, and polished boots, rifle held in his hands. Sunglasses covered his weathered face. His hair dropped back from his wide forehead. "We were supposed to bring him back." "Verily, friend Wolf, he jumped into the water rather than face me in a manly manner." The Viking tucked his axe in his belt. "I had hoped to render him senseless with the flat of my axe." "I'll let you explain to Mr. R." Mr. Wolf pulled out a cigarette case and took a Marlboro out to light after slinging his rifle. "Let's gather the others so we can finish the job before we have more bad luck." "Lead on." Fenris Ulf looked down at the boiling water. "I doubt the coward will survive his foolish act." "I would rather be sure." Mr. Wolf led the way into the watching trees. He smoked his cigarette as he glided through the foliage. Fenris Ulf tore his gaze away from the stream. He crashed through the brush, a challenge to any who heard him. Anyone he encountered at that point would have a cleaved skull for their trouble. The subject of the big hunter's ire swam down river with powerful strokes, riding the swift current instead of trying to fight it. He wanted distance. Trying to fight for shore wouldn't give him that. Baloo surfaced in time to push off a boulder in his way, then slipped over a small waterfall. Above and behind him, he expected bullets or energy beams from his pursuers. He swam around a whirlpool and grasped another boulder near the opposite shore by chance. His big hands held on as the water battered him. He had to get out of the water and get moving before he froze to death. If he could get to Lake Marlowe before nightfall he might have a chance. Otherwise he could expect to freeze in the small woods outside the small city. Baloo pulled on the top of the boulder. He got half his body out of the water. He yanked again. His legs came free of the punching liquid. His lungs fought for air so he laid on top of the boulder until he could feel his heart slowing down, his breath slowing to normal. Then the sergeant got to his feet. He turned to face the direction the lake and its city should be in. Then he started jogging. He had to make it somewhere to change clothes and warm up before the sun went down. And he needed to check in with someone who could try and stop what was going on at the base hidden in the woods. He felt like both of his objectives were out of reach. He had nothing to lose by trying. His footsteps crunched as the water dripped from his freezing skin. At least the exertion was warming him enough to keep him going. He could easily see someone finding his frozen skeleton years in the future and asking who could this be.

Re: Dragonia Sir Donald and his two assistants break out of the burning basement to get to the ground floor of the sanctuary. The vampire had been waiting, and attacked the knight with life drain. Ishiyama and Flames repulsed the monster before he could kill Donald. Ishiyama used his clairvoyance spell to locate the vampire. Realizing the monster was outside waiting for them to exit so it could attack again, they searched the building for another exit. They smashed through a broken and barred window at the back of the building. The group separates. Ishiyama went up to trick the vampire into attacking while Sir Donald circled the building to attack from behind. The vampire attacked the monk. The gravity axe spell dropped him to the ground. Ishiyama stabbed the vampire through the heart with his magic sword, reducing him to dust. The heroes contact the local water dragon handlers to blast the fire out of the abandoned sanctuary before it burns down the neighborhood. The fire could not survive the fire department's five blue lizards. The group heal up, rest, and send a message to the king before leaving North Town for Opal, the capitol of the Yetis. The trio trail the steam plane halfway across the country before losing the trail. They decide to fly into Opal. The high altitude produces cold weather for the crystal city. Animals such as the sabertooth and pterodactyl act as vehicles and cargo machines. Sir Donald headed to the local embassy, a building of white stone, that stuck out from the local glass towers around it. Only one knight and two squires are on duty as a guard, while an ambassador and trade officials act to ship crystals south to Dragonia as jewelry and decorations. Sir Donald was informed that the city has been under a strange crime wave. Someone has been stealing the giant bells from the clock towers around town. Almost thirty of the big crystal ringers have been taken by the mysterious thief. Sir Donald and Ishiyama asked to lend a hand to the local authorities while they wait for news of the plane to reach Opal. Arrangements were made, and the two were quickly allowed access to the newest crime scene, a clock tower in the middle of several skyscrapers and many more lesser buildings. The whole tower consisted of the famous crystal the Yetis are famous for making, even the gears made of glass. Ishiyama used his clairvoyant spell. He learned two things the heroes could use. Coop Cooper was involved in the thefts. The bells could be seen from the tower. He could see the tower from where they rested. After some careful flying around, Sir Donald and his ally decided at midnight, they would break into a steel and glass monolith that sat among the skyscrapers. They felt that was the best course. The trio fly to the roof. They discover there were no doors to the inner workings of the place. They decided to break in a window. The windows were steel shutters. Ishiyama cut through with his sword attack. They found the bells had been hooked to a machine when they burst into the large area built out of the skyscraper's upper floors. The break in alerted Cooper and his squad of robots. Combat ensued with half the squad destroyed, but both Flames and Ishiyama badly hurt. The bells were used in the machine to collapse two nearby buildings in the hope that the Yeti government would give in to future demands. Sir Donald used gravity axe on the machine. It collapsed. Cooper and his surviving steam men fled the scene of the battle as Yeti police arrived on the back of pterodactyls, using empowered gems as weapons and badges of office.

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Deja Vu- I liked it but I had the feeling that the production company couldn't make up its mind if it was about a man falling love with a dead woman, a procedural with a new technology, or time travel. It seemed to be split in three different ways as it went along. And naturally they change the event and cause a loop in the timestream which I don't think they considered beyond the end of the movie. Outlaw Star the collection- Gene Starwind gathers a motley crew to help him find a legendary treasure and battle his enemies. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Dungeon Master for Dummies by Baker and Slavisnak- General advice, adventures for 3.5, and other things to help the aspiring GM out. I thought it was okay and I don't even play D&D. Doc Savage 2 in 1 Cold Death and the South Pole Terror. Doc Savage and the Fighting Five battle a mastermind that can cause explosions with a strange blue light, then journey to the South Pole to stop a greedy explorer from unleashing the force of cosmic rays. CES

Re: Setting: World of Alts I write on Corel. When I post directly to the board from that, it messes up the formatting. To fix that I use my email. I cut and paste to an empty mail form, then c&p to the post box. See if that fixes your format problem. CES

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force Here's another thing that stands out. I always got the impression that Plumbers were based on Earth for the most part, and were mostly human. I believe it was stated several times they fought aliens when they arrived on Earth and just retired when things settled down. Alien force is the first mention of Alien plumbers. Where are the Galactic Enforcers? CES

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force Only have seen six episodes. It kind of does bother me that Verdona and the alien chick from the last episode of Ben 10 season three do essentially the same thing. THat would seem to be an important thing to point out to Gwen in the light that she is half alien and all. It does look like a poor patch job. CES

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... My son is playing a dragon knight and is talking to more senior members of the force. Naturally the dragons aren't getting along. Flames: Arf arf arf. (The bark of a pomeranian) Other Dragon: Rooooowwwwlll (the sound of a hungry t-rex) Flames: ein ein ein (the whine of a scared pomeranian). CES

Re: champions campign logs I have a couple of logs here but the games appear to be on hiatus, plus I post notes for my NSU game here when I reset an archive page. CES

Re: Online Steampulp Game 3. Since he's basically a genie, somebody needs to play the "master" who found his lamp and accidentally released him. I can do this. I'll roll out a sheet tonight. CES

Re: Online Steampulp Game

Re: a limited mimic power I would say yes to the -1/2 disads Jim. To be honest, I don't know if you even want telepathy if all you're doing is copying someone else. If you're doing someone like Rogue where you're also stealing the mind of the target, I can see it. If you're doing someone like Taskmaster, where you are just copying someone else's ability, you might only need to buy LOS on the target to be copied. Additionally I think mental defense and breakout rolls will cut your powers off in the middle of combat if you're not careful. CES

Re: a limited mimic power I don't see a problem but do agree that -0 is not enough for the limit put on. CES

Re: A Classic/Full Metal Alchemist Combine Plus your GM might miss the point cost for the pool and let it slide by. If he does, you're golden. If he doesn't, time for Plan B. CES

Re: A Classic/Full Metal Alchemist Combine It doesn't. I could be wrong but I think that if an active point is 50 and the advantages are applied to the control cost, then those advantages are applied to the active cost of the pool. That will still jump the active cost over the 50 pt cap. If it does, the GM might ask you to bring it down somehow. My suggestion would be to get rid of the advantages. A hundred point pool would actually be 100 for the power pool + 50 for the cost x 2 for the advantages divided by 2.75 for the disadvantages as it is written which is going to be 109 pts A 50 pt pool would be 50 + 25 x 2 divided by 2.75 which is going to be 55 pts. That is assuming I did the math right. CES

Re: (SoloUber) Webs of the Widower "Yes." Lorna smiled. "Quit worrying. I'm not going to throw you down and have my wicked way with you, Tiger." he thought. And just with that, Lorna wasn't Lorna any more, but another girl, her bottle-blonde hair splayed against the dirt, orange in the fire, framed with the split-level detritus of 20 years suburban living. The ambulance lights were twirling, the fire trucks are coming, Daddy's sorry honey, it's not so bad, just a bit of PLEASE baby girl, PLEASE! And it wasn't a strip mall anymore so much as a cratered hole, smoking as the devil's anus, burning the last remains of all he knew. He could feel the blood drain, could smell the sweat, could hear his own voice echoing "Oh, right. Sitting down, now," somewhere off in the black beyond. "Are you okay, Jason?" Lorna stood close, almost too close, touching his arm with her slim fingers. The small double strip mall faced the road. On the left side and behind, an enclosed space held concrete bowls for skaters. Beyond that, Jason could see another building that faced the road the same as the mall. He could also see a sign that said PetSmart on the bottom half of the brick wall. The wall was solid against his spine, the pavement sticking rocks into his butt, and his knees were almost into his armpits, but at least he wasn't splayed against the road. "Gah, sorry." Sorry that you're way too young to be talked to like that. "D'ya know how sometimes adrenalin can mask the pain of overexerting yourself?" he said, not looking at the girl as he lied through his teeth. "Yeah, that just wore off." "I tell you what, you just stay here." Lorna looked at the pet store. "I'll go over and look around, then come back and get you. Will you be okay on your own for a few minutes?" "Yeah, I'll be good," he said, grimacing, but waving vaguely down towards the pet store. "Go do your……thing. I'll be right……here, I guess." Jason sat there, watching the shadow slowly creep across the floor. After a few moments, he began to slowly beat the back of his head against the brick wall. There was no toad this time, nor was there any particularly sarcastic narrator to perform voice-over commentary. No, Jason was quite alone, angsting nicely, all according to genre convention. No, breaking the 4th wall is for She-Hulk, not for Jason. He just goes along his own way, stumbling into doing exactly what he's supposed to be doing. He groaned. Yes, indeed. They're nowhere near you, are they. And it's not like they could get into trouble without you being there. No, the chances of them all getting into trouble at the same time, in drastically different places, thus creating some sort of plot complication designed for maximum dramatic conflict are nothing short of astronomical! He pushed himself to his feet, and stumbled off towards PetSmart. Why, you'd have to be cursed to have some sort of comic book life for anything like THAT to happen. I was. Look how THAT turned out. Jason could see Lorna on the breeze way headed for the front door of the pet store. He also saw a truck with the HAM JAM WHAMMER JAMMER picture on the side pulling across the parking lot. It resembled food delivery trucks for fast food places. The brown semi turned on the road in front of the shopping area and headed east toward Washington. The panicky mascot showed its fear to Jason as it rolled out of sight. Jason got up off the concrete as the truck pulled away. Well, if you want to. But if you do you may be involved in a misunderstanding, and end up thumping harmless old Mr. McGreety, who will likely turn out to be a recurring comic foil. That'll work. With that, Jason slouched over to the pet store. Lorna and the employees were checking through the supplies. She had one of the little harnesses in one hand with a remote clicker in the other. Several hamsters were being outfitted with the HJWJ. Jason meandered into the store, bypassing the colorful displays of fish food and polyvinyl chew toys. Slouching up behind Lorna, he snagged one of the plastic balls (empty of any domesticated rodent), and twirled it on one finger. "Y'know," he said, "it's at times like this, when I'm feeling SOL, that I look at my very own HJWJ, and think to myself, "Self, WWJD?". He glanced over the spinning ball. "And then I realize I'm talking in acronyms, and that I need to STHU and STFD." With that, he hopped up on the counter, and raised an eyebrow at what she held in her hands. "Decided to forsake the glamor of modern journalism for an exciting career in retail, eh?" "I'm going to test fire this babies and see if they do the same thing as the one from the game shop." Lorna held up the clicker. "You might want to step back."

Re: SoloUberCampaign:Adventures of the Dark Dark knew this probably wasn't a good idea, "Fine freak, what's the deal? I find her and then you give up?" "I got half of what I need." The voice called from each monster slightly. "I'm willing to wait until tomorrow night to get the other half if you win. If you lose, you go home and leave things alone for the rest of the night. That seems fair to me. That and the woman are what's on the table." Dark nodded, "Let us begin." "Get ready, get set, go." The crowd of monsters vanished into darkness. One monster appeared running on the street. A screaming woman was tied to his back. Then he vanished into shadow much like Dark did. A scream sounded further along the street.

Re: A Classic/Full Metal Alchemist Combine I think Gojira is right about the pts. If your pool is capped at 50 active points, it should be 50 + 25 for the pool x 1 + 1 for advantages which is 150 active points. To get under the stated cap you might have just leave off one of your advantages. CES

Re: A Classic/Full Metal Alchemist Combine They're my initials. C/E/Syphrett

Re: A Classic/Full Metal Alchemist Combine Vpp only transformations, OAF CES

Re: Beastboy Don't forget virus and the Tamaranian gore hound, or whatever it was. Too bad you can't have a big multipower and that power is basically linked to shapechange. You know like Shapechange: Elephant with Growth. THen you can put in a physical lim like no hands when shape changes or something. CES