Mark Rand

Hi all, As I sit at my keyboard and reflect on Pittsburgh in the game, a Dark Champions game with four-color overtones seems best. Lady Arcane is one member. A second is Black Scorpion, a female ninja. Her garb is a modified version of the traditional ninja garb. She added gloves with retractable claws and replaced the regular with a ski mask that had cloth mesh placed over the nose and mouth openings. (Some ski masks do have nose openings.) Her Scorpionmobile looks like a black 2001 Poiniac Ram-Air TransAm, but has accessories that would make James Bond and Michael Knight drool. As far as a base goes, they're using Lady Arcane's house. Don't forget, its a mage's house and they are full of surprises. Yours, Mark Rand

Thanks, Hermit. Glad you like it. That backstory would work for some supers. However, a magical threat might work better for a mage. Here's Lady Arcane's. Lisa Thompson and her parents were coming home from a society party when they were kidnapped by a dark coven. When she awoke, she and her parents were tied to altar stones. As the High Priestess plunged her dagger into Mr. Thompson's heart, Dr. Arcane felt the rising dark powers. As he arrived, and saw the High Priestess becom a demon, the others in the coven attacked the Doctor. Fortunately for Lisa, a being of light sensed what was going on, merged with Lisa, awakened her latent magical powers and helped Dr. Arcane defeat the coven and send the demon back where it came from. After the being left, Lisa, wanting to use her new powers for good, asked Dr. Arcane if he could train her. He agreed to. Now, as Lady Arcane, Lisa and fer familiar, Joy, a Western Screech Owl, battle the forces of evil in her home town, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lady Arcane's costume is taken from a strip that ran for several years in I]Dragon[/i] Magazine. It consists of a long-sleeve green tunic over light-brown leggings that are tucked into dark-brown boots. A dark-brown belt with pouches and gloves and a hooded green cloak complete the coufit.

Permission granted for anyone who wants to use this idea to do so. That's what its here for.

Hi all, I had an idea while eating lunch today. The Champions set up a branch office in Pittsburgh. So far, there are two heroes, Lady Arcane, a revamped Witchcraft, and Guardian, a retooled Defender. Since character concept comes before point total, the heroes can be the way the players want them. Their base is the residence of Dr. Arcane, Lady Arcane's mentor, and the current Archmage. Since its a mage's house, it's bigger on the inside than the outside and has areas in other realities. The staff, so far, consists of a housekeeper, secretary, nurse and electronics engineer. PRIMUS, DOSPA and the NSA all have liaisons there. Why did the Champions have a branch office in Pittsburgh? Simple. A Hellmouth is near the city, as is Stargate Command. Fortunately, a Slayer and her associates guard the Hellmouth (this takes place after the last episode of "Buffy: the Vampire Slayer") and the military controls the Stargate. However, the Champions aren't taking any chances. Oh, hoping to get control of it, the NID (the National Intelligence Department) revealed the existance of the Stargate project. All they got was arrested for high treason. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, I'm leaving the Champions, as they are, where they are. However, they are important in the campaign. See my Pittsburgh 5E thread for more information. Yours, Mark Rand

Interesting thread. Since, in my campaign, the character concept counts, not the point total, none of the characters are that great. Witchcraft needs a new background, maybe a young woman who, as a runaway teen, was rescued from a mugger by the Archmage. In gratitude, she decided to become a mage and asked him to train her. Discovering that she had the ability to use magic, he agreed. Now, she's a superheroine and destined to become the next Archmage.

I like it. Batman, Moon Knight, Green Arrow, or The Shadow instead of Superman or Iron Man. The headquarters wouldn't be the Archmage's house, but a cave (like the Urban Base in the Champions book) under a mansion in a wealthy suburb of Pittsburgh. Maybe the Archmage's student is a member of the team. Do you think the Public Auditorium Authority (or whatever they're calling it now) would object if someone or some company decided to build and own either a new hockey arena for the Penguins or a hotel-convention center complex?

I've been a fan of the tv series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" for many years. On the last episode, Willow, before closing the Hellmouth for good (which caused an earthquake that dropped Sunnydale, California into a crater) cast a spell that activated anyone with Slayer potential. That's 3,000 to 5,000 Slayers, folks. Assuming PRIMUS has been aware of Slayers, vampires and such, how much help could PRIMUS give a Slayer? Don't forget, they're the people that deal with vampires, demons, zombies and other menaces to humanity.

Good idea, danbuter. Thank you. Should the team be four-color or dark Champions?

Redmenace, I take it you're thinking of the U.S. Steel mills southeast of Pittsburgh. I'm sure both Carnegie-Mellon University (formerly Carnegie nstitute of Technology and the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research) and the University of Pittsburgh would get involved in such a project. Kenton, I'd like to share. You can post them here or email them to me at jakelene@yahoo.com.

Good idea, Hermit. It might be in the Pittsburgh area instead of within the city itself. It all depends on how much land is needed. Oh, before I forget, we aren't in the actual CU. James Collingsworth is the President and there is no known life in space.

Hi all, Since Gotham City proved unworkable for the campaign I wanted, I decided to set a campaign in my home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There will be changes made to the city, but they're minor. PRIMUS has an office there. It's on the South Side, near Station Square. The FBI office is, at least, 20-blocks away. The team's base is in the residence of the universe's Archmage, which is on Fifth Avenue, in the area known as Millionare's Row. Since it's a mage's house its bigger on the inside than the outside and can have gates to various places and realities. More to come. Yours Mark Rand

Hi all, The last post was to be the final one. However, there was one thing I forgot to tell you about this version of Batman. He has met Dr. Arcane, this universe's Archmage, knows that magic exists and, since he understands, from their talks, some of the principles, he's not afraid of it. He just can't do it. He's also willing to work with other people, including liaisons. However, they must prove themselves to him before he'll trust them. Watch the movie "Batman and Robin", if you can. You'll get an idea of his character. The only change from that movie is Batgirl's costume. She'd use the black and gold costume that Barbara Gordon wore in the comics. Yours (looking for a way out of the Batcave), Mark Rand

Hi all, The polls are closed. Here are the votes. Colorado City, Colorado...0 Gotham City, New Jersey...1 Las Vegas, Nevada...0 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...1 San Angelo, California...0 Washington, D.C...0 Gotham City and Pittsburgh are tied. I'll use a d10 to decide what city gets one more vote and the win. Gotham City gets odd. Pittsburgh gets even. Here we go. Four. Pittsburgh gets an additional point and the win. Thank you all for your wonderful comments and votes. Look for a new thread, Need help with Pittsburgh 5E, soon. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, A few questions for the everyone. First, would PRIMUS accept, probably as an intelligence agent, a former intelligence agency operative that did a lot of black-bag work? Second, in the campaign I'm developing, PRIMUS is adding superhero teams to its bases. Would the teams have their own PRIMUS-supplied staff? Third, is PRIMUS ever asked to help protect the President? If so, which city does the protection come from, D.C. or the city closest to his destination? Yours, Mark Rand

The 1983 film "The Hunger" may give you some ideas, too. It sometimes shows up on cable and, I think, will soon be out on DVD. Check the internet movie database (imdb.com) for further information.

Bought it last year. Lisa, thank you for creating this wonderful book.

Hi all, About 20 minutes ago it occurred to me that the PCs could be a superhero team working out of PRIMUS Gotham. One heroine is a mage and they use her house as an informal base. That's where the gateway to the other reality is. Batman isn't happy. Does PRIMUS care? No. Silver Avenger Mariko Namura has threatened to throw him into a cage if he tries to interfere. The voting deadline is now 6PM Eastern on Wednesday, September 24. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, About 20 minutes ago it occurred to me that the PCs could be a superhero team working out of PRIMUS Gotham. One heroine is a mage and they use her house as an informal base. That's where the gateway to the other reality is. Batman isn't happy. Does PRIMUS care? No. Silver Avenger Mariko Namura has threatened to throw him into a cage if he tries to interfere. The voting deadline is now 6PM Eastern on Wednesday, September 24. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, I'm running a Dark Champions game and I'd like the public to know about Stargate Command. Any ideas on how they found out? One comes to mind. The NID leaked the information to the press in hopes that it would be shut down. Their plan was to, using special funds, run it themselves and steal technology so that they could use it on America's enemies The plan backfired. A copy of the NID's plan was stolen from them and the President, angry at what they did. shut the NID down and sent the people responsible for the mess to prison. Comment is invited. Yours, Mark Rand

Yeah, it is cool.

Hi all, The Extra-Dimensional stuff is gone. The federal liaisons are not watching Batman, trying to discover something about him for their agencies. If he knows they're there, he hasn't let on. In the second Batman Animated series, the one with Superman, Batman meets occult expert Jason Blood, the host of the demon Etrigan. Batman considers him an expert on occult and magic and has no reason not to trust him. Jason told Batman about the Slayer (as in Buffy). Batman met her once, while investigating a mass murder. "Vampires," the Slayer, an athletic-looking black woman with braided, black hair that hugged her skull. "With this many bodies in one place, it looks like we have a nest somewhere." "You're the expert here," Batman said, noting that she wore black motorcycle leathers combat boots and leather gloves and had a black backpack on. "Jason Blood told me how to check them. I'll make sure the morgue people make sure none turn into vampires." "Good." With that, she slipped into the shadows. The Bat Team concept comes from the Batman RPG book, a supliment for the second edition of Mayfairs DC Heroes RPG. In it, Batman, wondering who would protect Gotham if something happens to him, Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl creates the Bat Team. They're a group of novice heroes that he selects and trains. He knows their identities and they know those of his senior associates. He provides them with a well-paying job, in their field, with Wayne Enterprises, that doesn't take up too much time, and makes arrangements for their quarters in a middle-class neighborhood. They have to report to the Batcave at 9am each day for training and each night for patrol. Chrissy and the nurse live in Wayne Manor as Bruce's guests and change clothes in their Batcave quarters, which is about the size of a hotel room with two twin beds. Since Chrissy drives a race car for fun (in SCCA-sanctioned amateur events), she keeps her car, trailer and motorhome in Bruce's garage. Remember, voting deadline is 6PM Eastern time this coming Monday. Thank you for your attention. Yours, Mark Rand

Good points, GenreFiend. Somehow, I keep forgetting them. With your permission, I'll randomly assign your vote to one of the five other cities.

Hi all, In my opinion, one of the more interesting NPC types is the cat burglar. A cat can be anyone from a punk breaking into a house to a master burglar that steals only for hire. A cat can also be a reformed burglar who now helps heroes. A cat can also be an intelligence agent that either burglarizes on occasion or one that does only that. Some private detectives and heroes in Dark Champions campaigns arso commit burglaries either to gather evidence or plant bugs or recover something that was stolen. You're challenged to create a burglar or post one that you have created. Meow. Yours, Mark Rand

GenreFiend, thanks for your post. If Batman had, due to suffering a stroke, retired, would you feel the same way?