BlackSword

This happened last weekend in a Jadeclaw game. We had just finished beating back bandits that had tried to steal our wagons and we were decided whether or not to burn them in a pyre or not. GM: Its going to stink and you're going to be there the rest of the night Player1: We can wait until morning, what are they going to do turn in to zombies? . . . GM: Okay, its just before dawn, you're on watch roll perception Player1: Success GM: You notice the bodies moving, four zombies are attacking you.

There was a previous review of Star Hero which swayed my decision to purchase the book. I find that most of the rpg.net reviews are well done. I was a bit confused, the review was labeled as a playtest review (as opposed to capsule review) so I was expecting less a review of the book and more how the information aided in play. It was a good review showing the strengths of the book though.

One of the JLA series about two years ago (I don't remember the name of the story arc) had an excellent example of a 'mere semi-mortal' nearly dismantling the JLA. Ra's Al'Ghul hacked into Batman's computer and found Batman's "How to" guide on beating up super heroes. Ra's can't fight any member of the JLA toe-to-toe, but using the knowledge from Batman, he learned all their weaknesses and how to go against them. Some of them were interesting because it wasn't an expected weakness. Have a speedster, up their metabolism by several factors so they can't control their muscle movements. Someone afraid/vulnerable of fire, spray their body with something flammable. I am pretty sure the series is in trade paperback now so you can read it at your local comic store. -- Dan

Reading through the article I was looking for a reference to Michael Moorkcock. No one knows more about the Multiverse then him

Upon further thinking of the above statements I have come up with idea, unfortunataly I am poor programmer so it most likely will never see fruition. Basically it just requires using a javascript or an image with embedded links. Build the map of the galaxy then have systems of interest inside the map. When the cursor moves over the system, the system becomes highlighted and gives its name, clicking on the system brings up a new browser window with more detailed information. Two sets of hyperlinked pages can be made, one for GM with secret information, and one for players with common knowledge or knowledge given to them by whoever hires them. I've seen something similar done on the Games Workshop Warhammer 40k website about the Tau. -- Dan

Are there other programs which allow easy building of galatic empires? I like to use the computer as an easy way to organize campaigns, and it would be nice if there was a program available. There are quite a few computer games which build galaxies for you to conquer and it would be great to be able to take out that galaxy building engine for role-playing games. I know this is ambitious but it would be nice to have a program which could build a galaxy and regions inside the galaxy. Allow for viewing at the planet level, solar system level (optional), empire level. This may be a bit more than anyone needs, afterall Dune was based in a galaxy of thousands of planets and the entire story line included only 5 or so planets. However, for a GM to be able to write up reports on a few planets and bring it up would be conveinant. It provides a GM quick reference to information, and if using a laptop and playing in a space opera then the GM can turn the screen around and show a report similar to a government report on a planet or hostile/nuetral empire similar to the CIA World Factbook http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ -- Dan

Be careful what you shoot at. Most things in here don't react too well to bullets. -- Capt. Ramius, Hunt for Red October Its been said before, but it probably depends somewhat on internal ship design. If the ship hallways have lots of plastic fascia like star trek, then guns might be okay to use inside. If the inside of the starships have a more modern warship/submarine feel then guns might damage vital controls. Hence martial arts. Star Wars combines the use of martial arts and long range combat by making the Jedi so smooth they can just dodge or block shots fired at them, while mere mortals have to make do with guns (for those who might not be interested in martial arts). Adding to the above about the insides of ships. Due to the relative fragility of having little more than sheet metal between your sweet self and the cold void of space may make guns extermely weak, little more than something similar to a tazer or modern police weapons whose goal is to incapcitate vs. kill. On the other hand (no pun intended), hand to hand weapons could be very powerful so shooting is just used to cover yourself and your friends long enough to get into close combat. This would of course require some other justification on-planet when shooting matters less. Just a few random thoughts, Dan