Mark Rand

Hi all, I'm not sure how weird this is, but years ago, back when I had my 286 Tandy, I bought shareware programs from Software Shopper of Prospect, Ky. (I don't know if they're still in business.) One program I have is Galactic Headlines v1.1. It generates random headlines from the Galactic News Service. You can get them in multiples of five and either print them out or put them on your monitor. The last line always is "FILM AT 11". If you print it out, the line'll appear on your monitor. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, Some decisions have been made. The Mayfair version of the Batcave will serve as the basis for the campaign's version. Why you ask? Simple. It has the better design. The Batboat/Batsub is now docked on sub-level two, which I'll have to create. That's the level that has an underground river running through it. There are two gates within the cave. One leads to a section of the cave that houses the Batwing (Batplane). The other goes to Dr. Arcane's house. He's the Sorcerer Supreme. His student, Lady Arcane is one of Batman's new associates. She's going to be accompanied by her familiar, a screech owl. Batman's other new associate is a kunoichi, or female ninja. No, she's not Batman's lady engineer, but they're good friends. Should there be a nurse or should Alfred, who has the training, handle the medical chores himself. Should Bruce arrange for the Wayne Foundation to provide funding for the engineer and, if there is one, nurse? The liaison that arrives first will be the one that has access to the Batcave. The others can talk to Batman only in Dr. Arcane's house. What agency should that liaison be with, the DOSPA, FBI, NSA of PRIMUS? Comments are invited, please. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, I just reread GenreFiend's posting. It looks like the suggestion being made is that the Bat Team have its own base, with its own support staff. It might be Lady Arcane's house. Since the house is a mage's, it would be dimensionally transcendental, or bigger on the inside than the outside. (Yes, I am a Doctor Who fan.) Such a house could easily have gates to one or more alternate realities inside. Although some could be entered only by Lady Arcane, others could be entered only by the Bat Team and considered the team's "Batcave". Comments are invited. Yours, Mark Rand

Try Google Image Search. It's a good site for floorplans and maps. Make sure you tell it, in detail, what you're looking for. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, Those are good points. All those items mentioned are in the Batcave. What I'm looking for is the layout its based on. The Mayfair version, from the old DC Heros RPG, the West End Games version, from the newer DC Universe RPG, or something else. The pocket universe isn't in the cave, just attached to it by way of one of three gates that Lady Arcane, the universe's version of Dr. Strange, created. The other gates lead to the Batwing (Batplane) hanger and the Batboat/Batsub dock. The reason for the link to the alternate reality is to provide additional quarters for heroes that need it and give the engineer a place to test new equipment. The only liaison who resides in the Batcave is the federal one. Where is he or she from DOSPA, PRIMUS, the FBI, or an intelligence agency and what did the liaison do before coming to Gotham? I'm also thinking of adding a nurse to the support staff. She could be the engineer's mother and share quarters with her daughter and the liaison. Their quarters would also have a gate to Lady Arcane's house that only they could use. Comment is invited. Yours, Mark Rand

Thanks for the information. I just rented the DVD. If that stuff got into the harbor. strange things would happen. Do any of our learned panel have ideas about the Batcave or what's in the pocket universe? Ideas about the liaisons and support staff are also welcome. Yours, Mark Rand

What movie or TV show was that from? The "mutant steroids" sounds a bit like the Mix Master, from Tremors: The Series. It's a chemical that blends non-human DNA and it coats Perfection Valley like alge in a public swimming pool. My version of Prefection is over 120 miles from Gotham City, which is on Little Egg Harbor. (Gotham County is the southern part of Ocean County.) Batman and his people know about Prefection, from newspaper and television news stories, but have never been there. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, I'm starting a campaign in Gotham City, New Jersey using Champions 5E, and I'd some help. We're using the Batman Animated timeline and this Gotham's in an alternate version of the Champions Universe where, as far as the general population knows, there is no life in outer space. UNTIL has not put a space station up and James Collingsworth is the President of the United States. Wondering who will protect Gotham City if something happens to him, Batman has formed the Bat Team, a group of young heroes he is mentoring. Aside from Alfred, his butler, his only assistant, so far, is his engineer, a brainy and beautiful woman. Although a skilled kunoichi, or female ninja, she prefers to design, build and repair equipment instead of fighting crime. Due to politics, the DOSPA isn't the only agency to send liaisons to the Bat Team. Although Batman doesn't like it, he accepts them, for now. The city and county governments, not to be out done, have also sent liaisons. The Batcave's design is still up in the air, but it does have a gateway to a pocket dimension where buildings from an Earth that had all lifeforms died out in the 1960s were relocated. Of course, the Powers That Be, or Elders of the Universe, made sure there was nothing harmful there. A box canyon in New Jersey's part of the Appalachin Mountains is our version of Prefection, Nevada. Although there is a sterile graboid there, everything else is still in a state of flux. Comment, as always, is invited. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, You can find Doctor Who gaming information for various systems, which includes a 4E Hero Time Lord package deal, on the scifi RPG page of the open directory project (DMOZ.ORG). If I read the Ultimate Vehicle book right, the Chronoportation Box on page 103 is a TARDIS. I found images of more than one TARDIS and several TARDIS control panels through a Google image search. There's even a plan of the Master's TARDIS there. It could inspire the creation of your own. Comment is invited. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, Good questions from ChuckB. Since we're taking Gotham from the "Batman: the Animated Adventures" and placing it in an alternate version of the CU, there is no Smallville. Dr. Bellows retired from the military in 1982 and passed away in 1987. I'm not sure if Xena is still alive. My version of the CU has John Collingsworth as the President of the United States. As far as the public knows, no other planets have life on them and people think of magic wielders (sp) as being colorful energy projectors. Because of politics, and the fact that agencies don't trust each other, the DOSPA isn't the only federal agency to send liaisons to superhero teams. Batman doesn't like the government liaisons, but has forced himself to put up with them. Comment is invited. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, When I rolled the dice to determine the campaign city the last time, I forgot San Angelo, California (published by Gold Rush Games) and Washington, D.C. Since no combination of six-sided dice will generate a group of numbers that can be divided into five equal parts, a ten-sided die, left over from my D&D days, will be used. Gotham City, New Jersey - 1, 2 Las Vegas, Nevada - 3, 4 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - 5, 6 San Angelo, California - 7, 8 Washington, D.C. - 9, 0 I have the die. Here is the roll. It's a 2. Gotham City, New Jersey is chosen. Look for a thread, starting soon, about the Bat Team, the Batcave and the Gotham area. Comment is invited. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, The day after I wrote the above post, I began to wonder if I made the right decision in sticking with Gotham City. I then decided on a way to figure where I should have my campaign, let fate do it. The campaign location will also decide where Prefection Valley, from "Tremors" is. Is it in the Nevada Rockies, the New Jersey Appalachian Mountains or the Pennsylvania Appalachin Mountains. I'll roll 4D6 and post the results here. If the result is 10-. it's Gotham City. If it's 18+, the campaign'll be in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I am right now. Las Vegas gets the other numbers. Ready? Here we go. The first die is a 5. The second die is a 1. The total is 6. All cities are still in play. The third die is 5. The total is 11. Gotham City is no longer in play. The last number is 1. The total is 12. The dice have spoken. The campaign's in Las Vegas and Perfection Valley's in the Nevada Rockies. It'll be a blast. As always, comment is invited. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, I think the reference is to "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E." Here U.N.C.L.E. stood for United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, It's been over a month since anyone replied to this thread, and I was the last to do so. I' ve finally decided to do a Batman campaign in a version of the Champions Universe where, as far as the public knows, there are no aliens on Earth and various agencies assign liaisons to superhero teams. Wondering who would defend Gotham if something happened to him or his partner, Batgirl, Batman has created the Bat Team. Would the DOSPA liaison work out of the Batcave or the Federal Building? Would he be a bureaucrat, former member of the military, a member of the law enforcement community assigned to the DOSPA, or a member of the intelligence community assigned to the DOSPA? Assuming he works out of the Batcave, would he bring family members, other DOSPA or military or intelligence experts with him? If so, what would be their skills? As always, comment is invited. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, I found the document Agent X mentioned in the box I keep some of my Champions stuff in. In truth, it didn't impress me. I also found, via Google Image Search, the plans to Avengers Mansion. Using Paint, the poor man's photoshop, I was able to modify it to my liking. If nobody can suggest another source, I'll just use it as Homestead. Either way, I'll use my team and support staff instead of the ones in Champions 5E. As always, comment is invited. Yours, Mark Rand

Had them once. Sold the book six years or so ago when I decided to, due to the old Hero Games not being reliable, decided to switch systems. A real bad mistake. The new owners are so much better.

Hi all, Does anyone have or know where I can find plans for Homestead, the headquarters of the Champions, Millennium City's best known superhero team? I'll also take plans of headquarters that can be easily converted into Homestead. Steve, any chance of Hero Games putting the plans into Digital Hero? Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, This is very nice. May I give one to the superhero team in the campaign I'm getting ready? Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, Good questions again from tkdguy. The Immortal whose chronicle was found by the police has been one for only three months. The only other Immortal mentioned in his chronicle was his mentor, Gabrielle, a skilled teacher and swordswoman with shoulder-length blonde hair. There were other documents there, but none named any other Immortals or Watchers. The man who leaked the news to the press was the Clark County sherrif, who describes Immortals as being "Freaks, like all other metahumans and PRIMUS". The press are, in general, treating it like a joke, but one tabloid is offering rewards for true stories about Immortals. So far, nobody has taken them up on the offer. If PRIMUS is looking into the matter, they haven't said anything. In case you're interested Gabrielle is the same one that accompanied Xena on her adventures. Methos told her about the Watchers when he found her and taught her about life as an Immortal. Since she was better with a sword than Methos, Xena taught Gabrielle how to fight with a sword. She knows who her Watcher is and believes in what she's doing. If you're a fan of the TV series "Tremors" you know Gabrielle as Nancy. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, For those of you who don't know, from reading previous posts of mine, I'll soon be starting a Champions campaign. In my world, the existance of Immortals has recently been exposed. I'm not sure how it happened, but an idea I've come up with is that a Watcher is in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up dead. The police, or crime lab people, searching his residence for leads find his journal and any other items and let other federal agencies, including PRIMUS, know about Immortals. Somehow, the press finds out about Immortals. The intelligence and law enforcement communities are in an uproar over this news. PRIMUS didn't leak the information and the late Watcher's Immortal didn't kill the Watcher. Comments, suggestions and other methods of exposing the secret would be welcome. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, Steve, anyone, any chance of getting this thread attached to the Immortal package thread, where it should've been? Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, Since I've finally, after days of research, decided to set my campaign in Gold Rush Games's San Angelo, I take my leave of this thread and wish all of you much happiness. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, Oops, almost forgot, in the campaign, Prefection Valley doesn't have to be in Northern Nevada. I'm sure there are other places that could have the right geographic isolation, an immence box canyon with rocky cliffs on one side, mountains on two others and, on the fourth, the only road out of town. Any ideas? The closest town doesn't have to be Bixby, it could be another one. Also, Stargate Command could be in one of the mountains. Discovering that and finding out that a PRIMUS intelligence agent was moving into Prefection itself would make Burt go nuts. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, Good point, tkdguy. Thank you. How about this? Some real bad Immortal gets a group of thugs together, they take over a major sporting event, one that's broadcast, live, on national television. He then reveals the existance of Immortals to the public and challanges a heroic Immortal to come to where the event is within four hours and battle him. If he wins, everyone dies. If the hero wins, everyone's safe and the hero's identity is exposed. Either way, the secret's out and the intelligence agencies are now interested in Immortals. Comment is invited. Yours, Mark Rand

Hi all, Wonderful comments, as usual, from Shelley. Thank you. Now, all I have to do is figure out where in Northern Nevada Perfection is. If Mariko is Las Vegas's silver avenger, it might be near Ely. Any ideas? Comment is also requested on my post of 5/31/03 which gives more information on Mariko's weapons and my opinion on PRIMUS's reaction to the Stargate Project, the Slayer and her helpers and Presidential security. Yours, Mark Rand