Mark Rand

Re: A Look at my Version of the CU Yeah, it would

Re: A Look at my Version of the CU All the typos on my first two posts have been corrected. There will be a post dealing with the Secret Service later today.

Re: A Look at my Version of the CU The Santa Barbara, California based Nelson Institute of Marine Research, founded in 1961 by the late Admiral Harriman Nelson and now run by Admiral Lee Crane and Vice Admiral Chip Morton, is one of the world's best-known oceanographic institutes and has been the home for all three versions of the submarine Seaview. The current one was launched in 2002 and is commanded by Captain Robert Morton. Lee's son, Commander David Crane, is his executive officer. Down the coast, in La Jolla, California, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography is home to the Seabat, an experimental research submarine with a cold fusion reactor and a transparent nose. Until an attack on our world by Anubis, the existance of Stargate Command, which is located near the campaign city, has been kept a secret. When he made the existance of Stargate Command known to the public, he also closed down the National Intelligence Department, claiming that it was no longer needed. Dr. Elizabeth Weir is now the head of Stargate Command. Its former head, Major General George Hammond, now commands the world's only space battleship, the Prometheus, an X-303 spaceship and its X-302 fighters. Currently, the United Nations is debating what, if anything, to do about Stargate Command. More to follow. Comments on what has been presented so far are invited.

Re: A Look at my Version of the CU Thanks. The duplicate post has been deleted. A furthur post will be made later today.

Re: A Look at my Version of the CU More is coming. Sorry about the double post. I had computer problems last night when I typed it up.

Re: A Look at my Version of the CU Now, modern times. The Knights of Pendragon are one of the United Kingdom's most famous hero teams. The current group is businesswoman Francesca Lexley Grace, who prefers to be addressed as Grace, Astra TV's fearless and beloved reporter Kate McClellan and Joey Chapman, the current Union Jack. Joey's lover Lady Jacqueline Falsworth-Crichton, the now rejuvinated World War II heroine Spitfire often joins them. All members have armor that can be called into being and use high-tech speader bikes to travel from place to place. Grace always wears her armor in combat. Kate prefers street clothes (recently she has been seen in a black leather jumpsuit, gloves and combat boots that she bought before doing a five-part story on British motorcycle clubs), but occasionally wears scale mail with a black tabard, brown leather boots, gloves and sword belt, and a shield. (The shield and tabard bear Queen Guinevere's coat of arms). Joey wears his Union Jack costume or armor, Spitfire wears her old costume without its mask. Jonathan Hayes, a widower with one college-age daughter, Jess, is the President of the United States. He's engaged to Kathryn Yarnell. Gloria Valdez is the Vice President. Evelyn Baker Long is the Chief Justice of the United States. Lady's gloves went out of style in the early 1970s. Dressy ones came back into style in 1979 and by 1985 they were being worn with even the most casual clothes. Some fashion experts belive that women are imitating female metahumans. Also in 1979, stuntwoman and Wheel of Fortune hostess Susan Stafford started wearing evening gowns and long gloves after cutting her left arm open in a movie stunt that went wrong. (Due to letters from fans, saying that they loved the look, Susan, who is still on the show and looks as young as when she started, continues to wear them.)

Archeologists, historians and linguists are always making discoveries. Here's a look at some of the ones the heroes may have heard about. In Southern Greece, evidence of the existance of Xena, Gabrielle and the Amazons has been found. Eveidence has also been found of a great battle between 200 Amazons and 2 Roman legions. All the Amazone were killed, as were half the Romans. It is believed that the Amazons kept the Romans occupied while other Amazons escaped into the world at large. The remains of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere have been found near Gladstonbury Tor. Evidence of Camelot Castle, a post and beam structure, has been found on Cadbury Hill, near the River Cam. Buried under the castle were records of Arthur's battles. A partial list of his knights and spiritual allies were also found. According to the list, there were three female knights, Queen Guinevere, Queen Aleta of the Misty Isles, and Lady Rowanne (also spelled Rowenne), a soldier who became a knight. Among the spiritual allies were Vivianne, the Lady of the Lake, and Morgaine, her successor. Morgause was mentioned as a trator. The remains of the nineteenth century Spanish town of Santa Helena was found in what was once Spanish California. After Colonel Luis Montoya was expelled for his crimes, the Spanish appointed Don Gaspar Hidalgo governer. His wife, Vera, proved to be much smarter then people thought. There was also a record of the vigilante known as the Queen of Swords. Once Gol. Montoya and his thugs left, she proved to be a protector, and not the bandit queen as Montoya made her out to be. Next, we find out about modern times.

Re: Year One Batman Campaign Idea Perhaps I should've said "Batman before he became paranoid" instead of "Batman Year One". As I type this, it occurrs to me that, in the DCU, Batman's identity is known by, if memory serves correctly, 20 people. It would, I think, be reasonable for Batman's fellow teammates, the two-woman support staff and the non-DOSPA liaison to know who he is. This way, Alfred could keep the Batcave clean while others are there and Lady Arcane's house doesn't have to be used as an entrance.

Re: Year One Batman Campaign Idea A gate, or mystical portal, connects the Batcave to a hallway. The other doors in it lead to a first aid room, a Japanese garden, a hotel and a church and Lady Arcane's house in Sommerset, near the University of Gotham and Sommerset Planetarium. (Gotham University, which is also known as both Gotham City University and Gotham State University, is in Chelsea.) The staff, an engineer and a nurse, and the liaisons live in Lady Arcane's house and the heroes enter the Batcave through it. Alfred, of course, doesn't enter the Batcave. By the way, the engineer is also a ninja who prefers working on equipment and her conditioning to fighting crime, However, Batman can sometimes talk her into coming on a mission.

As you probably know, I'm a Batman fan. Sure, I don't like his paranoia and stubberness(sp), but I still like hime and I think the Batcave's cool. I'm giving a lot of consideration to running a campaign with a Year One version of Batman. The following is a list of a few things in the universe. 1) We're using a CU varient, not the DCU. 2) Jonathan Hayes is President of the United States. 3) Batman is recruting a group of allies. The first of which is Batgirl, whose costume looks like Cassandra Cain's. 4) Batman has no problem with magic and mages. 5) The federal government assigns at least two liaisons to each solo hero or hero team. The one from the DOSPA is the team leader. The others can come from the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, or PRIMUS. (After 9/11, Congress permitted the CIA to work in the United States.) 6) Batman has a small support staff helping him and his team out. (Said staff does not includ Alfred, who also has duties in Wayne Manor.)

Re: The IST World Historians in the Monterey area of California discovered the remains of the town of Santa Helena. In it were records of a vigilante known as The Queen of Swords. One of her secret allies was Vera Adelina Velasquez Hidalgo, an Amazon queen, who gave her information and, at least once, took her place. Santa Barbara is the home of the Nelson Institute of Marine Research, the owners of the submarine Seaview. Captain Robert Morton is the submarine's current commanding officer. His executive officer is Commander David Crane. Their fathers, Admiral Lee Crane and Vice Admiral Chip Morton, now head the institute. Sunnydale, California was destroyed by an earthquake. New York City was, during the 1930s and 1940s, the home of Margo Lane, an heiress, socialite, Amazon queen, and part of a covert group of crime fighters. The town of Perfection, Nevada is the home of ceramicist Nancy Sterngood, the current Amazon queen. The town is also home to El Blanco, a sterile white graboid. The President of the United States is Jonathan Hayes, a widower with one daughter, Jess. He and Kathryn Yarnell are engaged. No wedding date has been set. Alex McGregor heads the Secret Service unit protecting him. Her husband, corporate adventure company owner and former wilderness guide Grant Coleman sometimes assists her. Next, we wrap the whole thing up. Comment is invited.

Re: The IST World Among France's favorite villains is le Chat Noir, or The Black Cat. She's a polite, soft-spoken cat burglar whose silenced pistol is always loaded with knockout darts. A daring woman, she recently threatened to send The Sauve Marauder a hairball after he said, in his regular column in Metahuman Monthly, that her flat black costume was too dull and needed some feline touches. IST Sinai is near Mount Saint Catherine in the Sinai Range. The Monastery of Saint Catherine, a Russian Orthodox monastery that also has a mosque on its grounds, is at its feet and The Chapel of the Holy Trinity is at its peak. What makes this mountain so special is that it's believed to be the Biblical Mount Sinai and is considered holy ground. The monastery's spiritual heart is The Burning Bush Chapel, which sits on the roots of the Biblical burning bush. A few feet from the chapel is the reputed bush itself, a rare species of the rose family, Rubus Sanctus, which is endemic to Sinai and extremely long lived. The underground spring that supplies the monastery with water is said to sit on the very spot where Moses met his future wife, Zipporah, after protecting her and her sisters from an aggressive group of local sheperds. Next up, we visit California, New York City, Nevada and Washington, D.C. Comment is invited.

Re: The IST World

Re: The IST World

On a pervious thread, I mentioned my IST campaign ideas. I've decided to rework it, putting each item, the world, the campagn city, the embassy, the gate worlds and the people in the embassy in separate threads. We start with the world itself. Please note, there crossovers. Some are for historical reference only. Others are current. When the IST treaty was signed in 1982, the UN forbad all national military superteams, on the grounds that they were a "destablizing" influence. They still permitted them to employ metahuman bodyguards and law enforcement personal. They then revealed the IST to the world. Most nations capitulated. In response, the United States formed the DMI, The Division of Metahuman Information, which sanctions superheroes and superhero teams in the United States. In Europe, the governments aid superheroes as much as the UN regulations will permit. Europeans love their metahumans. Even villains are loved, if they show style. Some are cult figures for their flamboyance and refusal to cause serious harm to persons or property. Historians in Ancient Greece have found proof that tribes of Amazons exist. According to one historian, an Amazon queen, a decendant of Xena's friend, Gabrielle, led her people out of Greece and into the world while 200 older Amazons kept 2 legions of Roman troops at bay. In the end, all 200 Amazons died, as did half the Romans. In England, the remains of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere have been found. The site of Camelot Castle, a post and beam structure, has been found on Cadbury Hill, near the River Cam. Historians now believe that Arthur had both male and female knights. One female knight, Rowanne (also spelled Rowenne), is believed to be an Amazon queen. England's best-known hero team is the Knights of Pendragon, a group of men and women infused with superhuman power by the Green Knight. They also have heightened abilities and senses. They also have mystical armor that they can summon with a thought and speeder bikes that can jump through ley space. The current group consists of Francesca Lexley Grace, Kate McClellan and Joey Chapman, the current Union Jack. Joey's lover, Lady Jacqueline Falsworth-Crichton, the rejuvinated World War II superheroine Spitfire, is often with them. Next, we'll visit France and the Sinai region. Comment is invited.

Re: What?? Bruce Wayne isn't Batman??? The Batcave, located below Wayne Manor, is home to Batman and his associates It has three entrances in Wayne manor itself, an elevator that bypasses the secret basement room (of course, you have to know how to access the cave from the manor), a staircase behind the grandfather clock in Bruce's study that leads to the hidden basement room and the staircase behind one set of library shelves that also leads there. The secret basement room holds the Batcave's library and makeup and disguise equipment. The main floor has a complete workshop, turntable that holds the Batmobile, parking spaces for other vehicles, the crime lab, a restroom and the gate to Lady Arcane's house and other places. Sub-level one holds the gymnasium, trophy room, power and machinary room, a restroom, and the Batcomputer. Sub-level two holds an underground river that team members swim in. The team itself consists of Batman (Bruce Wayne), Robin (Dick Grayson), Batgirl ([Alfred's neice] Barbara Wilson, who uses the Cassandra Cain costume) and Spirit Cat (engineer/ninja Keiko Nakamura, who prefers working on gear to fighting crime, but sometimes can be talked into going out with the others). Knowing that they are mortal and their fight could last forever, Batman has started recruting beginning heroes that he can train. Yes, Batman can be stubern and Robin is often cocky and acts before he thinks, but Batgirl and Spirit Cat can be easy to get along with. Although asked, Lady Arcane decided not to join the team because she deals with mystical threats, not normal ones.

Re: GURPS IST in Champions Mention has been made of a Hellmouth, Slayers, and Watchers, as in Buffy, post season seven. The Southwestern Pennsylvania area has three Slayers. Here they are. All three use stakes, crossbows and personal weapons and go to the same high school, which is on the Hellmouth. Slayer Mariko Yamashiro was trained in ninjitsu and gymnastics by her mother, Fujiko, who also trained by IST electronics engineer April Curtis, before she became a Slayer. Her father, Hikaru, is the principal of the high school on the Hellmouth. Mariko and Fujiko patrol together and carry swords as well as regular Slayer weapons. Slayer Joy West was also trained by her mother, Jennifer, a Jedi Knight and fugitive from the emperor, who now owns an art gallary, as a Jedi before she became a Slayer. Her father, Tom, works for the county crime lab. Mother and daughter patrol together and use their lightsabers as well as conventional Slayer weapons. Slayer Kendra Thomas was adopted by her Watcher, Paul, after her Jamacia-born parents were run over by a drunk driver as they walked home from church one Sunday. He is now the school librarian and his wife, Cathy, is the school nurse. Her favorite weapon is a scythe, like Buffy's, that she found in the wearhouse. Her father, who patrols with her, has no favorite weapons.

Re: GURPS IST in Champions I made a slight error in the last post. Christine Hunter doesn't wear the old British Caledonian stewardess uniform. She wears the same khaki jumpsuit April, Denise, and Keiko wear. The uniform, however, can be seen on a billboard for British Caledonian Airlines that's visible from the bus shelter.

Re: What?? Bruce Wayne isn't Batman??? The Gotham City area has two planetariums. The Gotham Planetarium, on the Gotham State University Campus, is a state of the art facility. They've gotten rid of their Zeiss Mark II planetarium projector and their Siterostat telescope. The sky shows are now projected by a computer-controlled video projection system. (Gotham State University is also known as Gotham City university and Gotham University.) The Sommerset Planetarium is located on the University of Gotham's campus. It now owns the Zeiss Mark II planetarium projector (nicknamed George) and the Siterostat telescope that once belonged to the gotham planetarium. Both are used daily. (When viewing the Sun through the Siterostat telescope, the image is projected on a white screen.) They also webcast solar and lunar eclipses to the public and display the images on monitors in the galleries, the Little Science Theatre (their lecture hall) and the basement club rooms. For solar eclipses, a video camera is clipped to the telescope and aimed at the screen. For lunar eclipses, a 10-inch Schmidt-Cassigrain telescope is placed on the building's flat roof and the camera is connected to it. Twenty miles west of Gotham City is the town of Hayden, which is home to Gotham Park, Gotham Raceway and the New Jersey Cruciform Array, a omplex of nine stationary radiotelescope dishes, five mobile radiotelescope dishes and a 20-inch optical telescope. The mobile telescopes roll along a 3.53 by 3.17 mile cross-shaped set of tracks. Comments on the tour of the Gotham area are requested. We'll tour the Batcave itself next.

Re: GURPS IST in Champions I forgot two things in the embassy description. The embassy's main library is on the Wood Street side of the fifth floor and the whole building is wired for digital cable. Now, on to my two NPC heroes, neither of which are team leaders. Cat, sceret identity Jennifer Green, can, at will, make a suit of battle armor, that looks like a metalic felionoid, appear around her. Lady Arcane is the team's mage. Her familiar, Amber, named for the color of her eyes, is a Western Screech Owl. The public knows that she's Denver-born heiress Lisa Clark. April Curtis, M.S. in electronics engineering, is the embassy electronics engineer. The brunette daughter of a wealthy Pittsburgh family, she's also an amateur race car driver, a former Olympic and University of Pittsburgh gymnast, and a kunoichi, or female ninja, that would rather work on equipment than fight crime. Occasionally, the team leader has been able to talk her into coming on a mission. When she does, she's addressed as either Nekokami or Spirit Cat. Denise Dupont is the U.N. Intelligence agent, a former CIA black-bag jobs expert and a skilled actress. An attractive, blue-eyed blonde, Denise started wearing gloves constantly while getting ready to portray a fashionable woman in a play that was set in 1902 Boston. Although she usually wears a khaki jumpsuit, she sometimes wears one of the 1961 American Airlines stewardess uniforms, given to her by her maternal grandmother after she wore them in a play. Ann Gray, R.N., BSN, is one of the embassy's nurses. Unlike the others, who wear scrubs, she wears white uniforms and a cap that were found on the other side of the gateway. Christine Hunter, M.S., the head of embassy computer section, received her computer science degree from Carnegie-Mellon University, A black woman with vraided, shoulder-length black hair, she recently began wearing vintage 1960s British Caledonian Airlines stewardess uniforms that were found in the gateway world. Elena Lopez heads the embassy's PR department. A lean Hispanic woman who fences for fun, she's the decendent of the 1820's California vigilante known as the Queen of Swords. Keiko Nakamura is the base photographer. A Japanese-American woman, she's a graduate of the Art Institute and worked for UMPC before joining the embassy staff. That's all for now. Your comments on everything would be appriciated.

Re: GURPS IST in Champions Both gates are in the rec room. IST policy requires the cremation of bodies found through these gates and permits the recovery of their clothes Except for choir and pulpit robes, which are kept where they were found, the clothes are placed in storage in a room or rooms in one building and the heroes and staffers are given a list of what is there. Signs that were in the buildings haven't been removed. Gate one goes to a Japanese garden. Two spectral women, dressed like geisha, play music here and tend the garden. Gate two leads to a two square block area. One block has a rec center. The other has a hotel, a church, a bar, a restaraunt, a beauty shop and a uniforme store. The rec center has a pool, gymnasium with an overhead running track, a weight room and other facilities. A sign on the cork board informs people of a health fair in the gymnasium. A second sign reminds the cheerleaders to stop by their coach's office and pick their uniforms up. The gate is in a bus shelter outside the building. The church had a blood drive going on in its Fellowship Hall. The hotel was hosting a conference of Islamic women. According to newspapers found in the buildings, a madman threatened to unleash a deadly plague unless the world disarmed. If it was unleashed, the Powers That Be, or some other higher power, made sure whatever killed them was now dead. Next, we meet my two NPC heroes and some of the support staff.

Re: GURPS IST in Champions Now, we look at the IST Pittsburgh's underground floors. The basement, which can be entered through the loading dock, has the laundry room and storage areas for food, ammunition and everything else. Sub-level one has the morgue, holding cells and closed-circuit link to the various courthouses. Sub-level two has the computer room, the head of data processing's office, the morgue, and the combat simulation chamber. Sub-levels three and four contain the embassy's fusion reactor and its systems, two 10,000-gallon cisterns, water filters and pumps, and various repair shops. Next up, we go through the gates.

Re: What?? Bruce Wayne isn't Batman??? The Gotham City area has three major universities, Gotham State University in Chelsea, Glendale Institute of Technology in Glendale and the University of Gotham, in Sommerset Township. The area is also home to many sports teams and facilities. The New Gotham Square Garden is home to the Gotham Blades (NHL), the Gotham Guardsmen (NBA) and the Gotham Valkyries (WNBA). The recently built Gotham Stadium (near the Wayne Botanical Gardens) is home to the Gotham Wildcats (NFL). The Knights Dome is home to the Gotham Knights (MLB-AL). Sommerset Stadium is home to the Gotham Monarchs (MLB-NL). The Gotham Ice Arena in Summerset Township has two rinks, one used for figure skating and one for ice hockey. Next time, we'll look at observatories and planetariums.

Re: GURPS IST in Champions IST Pittsburgh is on Wood Street between Fifth Avenue and Oliver Avenue. Although it occupies the entire block of Wood Street, it doesn't occupy the entire block. Apple Way, a narrow alley, separates the embassy's loading dock ramp from the Park Building and Saks Fifth Avenue. (The third floor and above have restroom and maintance facilities.) The first floor has telephone booths, a news stand, a gift shop and, unlike other IST embassies, a coffee shop. A door leads to the kitchen from Fifth Avenue. It can be opened from inside and is monitored by IST security and the base mainframe. The second floor houses the HVAC equipment. The third floor houses security. An emergency deployment hatch opens above the loading dock ramp. The fourth floor is the administrative floor. Along the Wood Street side are the administrator's office, his secretary's, the legal attache's office, her secretary's, her law library, the PR director's office, her secretary's, the PR photo and artical library, a staff conference room and a photo studio complete with darkroom and computer systems. The Oliver Avenue side has a press briefing room and administrative and secretarial offices. More offices are on the Apple Way and Fifth Avenue sides. The fifth floor is the residential floor. Ten suites, consisting of a bedroom, living room and bathroom are on the Fifth Avenue side. Ten more are on the Oliver Avenue side. The Apple Way side has the dining and kitchen facilities, which are always open, as well as the head cook's office. The Wood Street side has the rec room, where the gates are, the entertainment center and the office the majordomo, head housekeeper and their secretary share. The sixth floor is the operations center. The Wood Street side is the team leader's office, the communications denter, and the team's meeting room. The Oliver Avenue side has the medical and dental facilities. The Apple Way side is the gymnasium, with weight training, martial arts and cardiovascular training. The telecommunications facilities, electronics lab, forensics lab and technical library are on the Fifth Avenue side. Above this floor is the helipad. Next time, we visit the underground floors and, maybe, go through the gates.

Re: GURPS IST in Champions Thanks. What do you think of the world and city information?