Chat about the game...

Admin wrote:More 12 hour work garbage for me this week :(Just letting you know, so that whilst I will update where I can, I'm having to get 4 hours sleep in one block of time, get up, do stuff, get another hours sleep then go to work for 14 or so hours (getting there and back) before doing it all again. I know how Bill Murray felt in 'Groundhog day'.

On the bright side I have 2 weeks off from Saturday and I don't think we've got much planned so will be in UK and able to catch up.

He says...  

 Thanks for the update Paul, its a wonder you've kept going this long.  Thanks for letting us know all is ok, just busy.  Appreciate it when you can get back to things, as and when.  

Sj

Yay! Train was cancelled (late running and I refused to work beyond my 11h 45min day) meaning I get (for the first time this week) chance to sit down at the computer.

THANK YOU ALL for sticking with me - I know how hard it is to stay interested in play by post games (or any game for that matter) when the GM goes AWOL. It wasn't through choice, believe me...

Have 2 weeks off from today. Had planned to go abroad but with the weather so nice we'll probably stay in the UK which means I *should* be ok to update daily.

Cheers, Paul

Still alive, just battling the forces of darkness (work, horrific garbage long shifts and the kids off school). Should be able to update if not tonight (my train turning up shortly) then tomorrow during day, certainly. Hope y'all having a decent summer Cheers, Paul

Paul, thanks for the update, but frankly you've no need to apologise nor feel embarrassed for holding things up mate.  Don't beat yourself up, we'll wait.  

Sj

Update later on tonight Just have usual stuff to get out of way...

That was awesome watching Lionheart in action, I only have one issue with it. Power Reserve is a mental power so it will attack Lionhearts Mind Attribute rather then his Body. Mostly important because the borgs seem to attack Body only.

As for Silver Sentinel, I'll try and get something together in the future. I have some ideas on how to streamline him. If it's alright I'll open up a new thread for him just to make it easy for Ross to find and track, there's a lot of stuff to cover. I'll get that started up tomorrow.

As a spoiler on that, it drives me nuts that you keep doing metal manipulation rolls without actually using it. His metal manipulation roll could be used to make a suit that has 12 body (steel) and its APs as Skin Armor/Force Field. Then he could use Fabricate to (in theory) add extra powers ontop of that.

Just my two cents ;-P

Thanks for the input (as usual) I regard you as our resident rules expert (note expert, not lawyer )so don't mind being told when doing something wrong. I only did Power Reserve vs Body because he was boosting a physical power (superspeed) but it was late and my eyeballs were falling out (as usual) so will amend in my update later today. Also welcome ideas on Sentinel as he's well overdue a makeover. I think Haunt is fine as is (that's Davids call anyhow as he knows the character creation rules) and Frostbite could do with a tinker as well. Right, have to sort kids out  

I've got the thread for Sentinel off the ground, I'd love to see some imput from Paul and Ross on the character. Paul on the rules stuff I've pulled together and Ross on his vision for what the character can do.

In a little bit here I'll get working on some actual IC posts!

Updates (hopefully) in the morning as on 12 hour killer shifts again. So expect the odd typo as my eyes don't work so well when hanging out on springs :S

Just a heads up - the nearest thing I'm having to a summer holiday I'm taking next week... I fly to Malta on Sunday, back on Thursday next week, so four days away from keyboard. When I get back I reckon things should be easier with regards posting more regularly, because the kids will be back at school (yippee!) On the downside one of the lads I'm going with has pointed me to a forum of complaints about Ryan Air (who we're flying with). They sound like a right set of cowboys, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised, being a cheap lads holiday and all that...

Anyway, thanks for hanging in there with the game.

So, I've been stewing on an idea for a game to run myself. I had considered putting it up on the other (marvel) forum where Paul found me. But I realized I'd rather have a more ah, intimate environment as it were. Frankly I like that there's a smaller number of players here. I'd also love if some of you guys were interested in taking up another game. Provided of course that Paul is alright with me setting up a sub forum for that!

Admin wrote:Just a heads up - the nearest thing I'm having to a summer holiday I'm taking next week... I fly to Malta on Sunday, back on Thursday next week, so four days away from keyboard. When I get back I reckon things should be easier with regards posting more regularly, because the kids will be back at school (yippee!) On the downside one of the lads I'm going with has pointed me to a forum of complaints about Ryan Air (who we're flying with). They sound like a right set of cowboys, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised, being a cheap lads holiday and all that...

Anyway, thanks for hanging in there with the game.

Hope the hols go well and you're suitable refreshed.  

Sj

dunecat wrote:So, I've been stewing on an idea for a game to run myself. I had considered putting it up on the other (marvel) forum where Paul found me. But I realized I'd rather have a more ah, intimate environment as it were. Frankly I like that there's a smaller number of players here. I'd also love if some of you guys were interested in taking up another game. Provided of course that Paul is alright with me setting up a sub forum for that!

Can't speak for Paul, not sure what it is your proposing but I might be able to squeeze in a bit more, just depends on what it is you're thinking off.  

Sj

same. willing to play if it is something I would be interested in.

Well, I was looking to run a 'power package' style game at a streetish power level. Characters would start out as normal non heroic characters without powers (or perhaps as low powered or non powered beginning heroic characters) and would gain powers/training through in game events. Anyone interested would need to come up with a concept for normal character and 3-5 things that you want your character to do/become/have happen to them. They may not all happen of course but it'll give me some indication of what you're picturing happening to the character.

As for the game system I'm planning on using a modified version of the Marvel Universe game. Modified mostly to match the scale I want to hold for the game. The rules are fairly simple and don't require any dice which makes it great for a forum like this. It also makes it handy for new players. I'll be adding a random element of some kind, I'm just not sure quite what yet.

There will be some Hellgate: London-esq elements, along with near future tech, some mysticisim (obviously), along with good old fashioned heroics! I may even bring in an outright open supers war eventually, probably more open good vs evil conflict then a heroic civil war type deal.

.. And thats my thoughts and plans so far!

Well, I don't know a thing about the Marvel Universe game system. I played with the original game system way back when, which was a bear to play because it wouldn't really let you make your own heroes. I take it the newer version does.

So you're looking at us as being Joe Normal Person and something happens to us that gives us powers? From that we decide to wear costumes and fight crime? Or we are some kind of trained person - soldier; policeman; spy; whatever and we purposely have something done to us to give us powers? Or we can choose?

You may be mixing your Marvel game systems, Marvel Universe has always been very good about making your own character as far as I know. I'm not 100% on the game system either, I do really like the way DC works, but it doesn't work as well in the lower power range I'm wanting to start in.

You've got it right about the character. You'll be starting as normals and then either have something happen to you, or be able to go after something on purpose to gain your powers. The events will all be handled in character based off the choices each player makes. Which is one reason I want to have everyone come up with a handful of powers they'd like to see their characters get. They also don't have to be super powers, you could choose to be a 'normal' the entire time and rely on either skills or tech (or both) to contend with the supers as you get more and more involved with them.

And if anyone is looking for another game to play.  I recommend All Stars at War.  I've been playing with that group for over a decade now.

http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/allstarsatwar/conversations/messages


Basic premise is to continue the old All Star Squadron comic books stories.  Crisis of Infinite Earths happened but instead of the Earth that DC portrayed up until recently in comics, the heroes of the Fawcett, Quality, All-American and DC line of comic books combined into one Earth.  Which we call Earth-Ours.  All after Crisis stories didn't happen.

So we have the All Star Squadron, the umbrella group for all the masked and powered heroes, operating out of the Perisphere in Queens, New York.  We have the Freedom Fighers, who are the Quality comics line of heroes, operating out of a base in Washington, DC.  We have the Crimebusting Crusaders Club operating out of Fawcett City, which is the Fawcett comics line of heroes.  We also have the Seven Soldiers of Victory and a few independent heroes, mostly who are ringers like some of the Young All Stars and the Blue Beetle and a few Canadian and British heroes of that time period.
Jon just finished playing Streamline, a British speedster hero from whatever comic book company that published him, in an adventure that ended last month.

The Young All Stars do not exist as a group as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the others who disappeared from the 1940s after Crisis, still exist.

It is a free-form game with no game mechanics for combat.

Information on the various characters and pictures of the characters can be found in the files section and the database section.

You will also want to join this group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/AllstarPerisphere/conversations/messages

That is the group for all OOC comments and questions and other zany ideas anyone has.  It also has more pictures and databases on the heroes.

Back and (I would hope, seeing as kids are back at school) get more regular updates out of me.

With regards another game, I reckon I should be able to join in another game too, with the usual proviso that work kicks my backside and home life puts the boot in too, occasionally.

The 'diceless' marvel game being referred to is all about resource management but flawed in that you generally blow all your energy in the first round of combat and you can pretty much predict what will happen after that, as there is a 'death spiral' connected with health loss and how much energy you get to spend. I have a number of ideas to change/correct that including rolling dice to see how much energy you get to spend (you 'buy' dice to use with points, then roll them to see how many points you can apply to the task). Anyway, more later, have a 3 year old saying 'why?' over and over that I have to strangle sort out... grrrr. Back to reality after a few relaxing days off...

dunecat wrote:You may be mixing your Marvel game systems, Marvel Universe has always been very good about making your own character as far as I know. I'm not 100% on the game system either, I do really like the way DC works, but it doesn't work as well in the lower power range I'm wanting to start in.

You've got it right about the character. You'll be starting as normals and then either have something happen to you, or be able to go after something on purpose to gain your powers. The events will all be handled in character based off the choices each player makes. Which is one reason I want to have everyone come up with a handful of powers they'd like to see their characters get. They also don't have to be super powers, you could choose to be a 'normal' the entire time and rely on either skills or tech (or both) to contend with the supers as you get more and more involved with them.

Ok I know who I'd like to play, I know that playing a highly skilled character can easily feel left behind or more mundane in the average supers game, so I'd definitely like to play a character with powers.

I used to play a character in another game, called Steeplejack, hence my monica. He was a sort of uk version of Spiderman. His powers were, strength, agility, wall crawling (but he had an important limitation to this in that he could only attach to wood, stone he cannot wall crawl on glass or metals) he also had regeneration whilst in contact with the earth. He had a special grapple gun built into his wrist gloves and some sort of danger sense.

He can be a British guy, working in the states (being British can't help it) if that is were we are going to be set. Anyway I am a contractor, my dad in my original origin was the first Steeplejack, I inherited his powers which he got from a substance that leaked from a downed spaceship sight, where the aliens within had died.

Ok thats about it for now, let us know when you want to start up. I'm not worried about rules that much, so whatever system is fine for me.

Sj

With regards system, I don't know if anyone has any experience with Cortex+. It turned up in the (ill fated) Marvel Heroic Game last year/cancelled this year.

How it works:

Describe your characters action
Select a trait from each of several with a Die ranging from D4 (normal human) to D12 (Thor, Hulk, top of the power tree in other words) - I think it's four, off the top of my head categories which are:
Affiliations (Solo, Buddy, Team - so if your character is on their own they pick the solo die, for instance. Rated at D6, D8 and D10)
Distinctions (These are things that describe your character, which might be, for example, Man out of Time, Driven to succeed, Wisecracker, all rated by a die that is either D4 or D8 which you choose each time you use it. The D4 gives you a bonus when you choose that)
Power Sets (Powers, like Superhuman Strength, Flight, Wallcrawling, Telepathy etc, along with Special Effects which are like power stunts which you can trigger by spending plot points earned by rolling poorly. Power Sets are usually rated at D6 to D12)
Specialities (these are Skills, which are normally rated D6 for peak normal human skill, D8 for expert, D10 for world class and D12 for unique talents recognised as the best for everyone).

So when accomplishing a task, trying to catch a falling car after it crashes through the barrier of a bridge, Mr Impossibles' player chooses:

Affiliation - Solo, as he is on his own (D10, as his buddy is D8 and Team is D6 - clearly Impossible is not a team player)
Distinction - 'No one can do the things I can do' (He has an ego the size of the moon...) which the player chooses at D8 (instead of D4) in this instance
Power Sets - In this case Impossible uses his Superhuman Strength (D10) to catch the car
Specialities - Impossible chooses his Acrobatics (D8) to get under the car in time.

The player therefore rolls D10, D8, D10, D8.

Pick the best two dice to use as action (added together) and choose one of the remaining dice TYPES as the effect (i.e. D8 or D10 in this case, depending on what is left. The number on the die doesn't matter, only the type of die).

So let's say the player rolls 4 (D10), 7 (D8), 6 (D10), 2 (D8). Players chooses the 7 (D8) and 6 (D10) with the other D10 used as effect, no matter that the die rolled a 4.

The players Action in this case is 13, the effect is D10.

The GM then rolls dice for the re-action and effect. If the players action is higher, the effect determines how successful the attempt was, modified by the effect of the GMs roll. If I recall, should the GMs effect die be higher, your own effect die is stepped down a die (so from D10 to D8, for example).

That's it really. I haven't run it myself as GM. There's more in terms of tweaking you can do using Plot Points (like Hero Points) and it's more of a narrative type game than traditional RPGs, added to the fact it can't be (legally) gotten hold of any more. Disney (Marvels owners) pulled the license after 1 year, and that happened to the previous two Marvel games in 2003 and 1998 if I recall as well. Marvels license is a poison chalice.

I'm neither a great fan nor great hater of it - I would have to run the game to really know that. As it is, I played in (online) and just shrugged. Not great, not terrible. I was more disappointed that they'd not gone for a traditional system and made it more attractive to more players and therefore be more successful.

Right enough waffle, I will update as many threads as I can, in date (earliest posted) order, and continue every day (I hope - the kids are both at school on Mon-Fri so should have a few hours of peace and quiet )

I played a Champions game once where the GM had us play ourselves and gave us our powers.  We had played together long enough that he figured out what kinds of powers we generally liked.  We had to figure out what our powers were as we went along.

I was out driving one day when I saw what I thought was a small plane crashing.  Went to help, found a UFO instead.  Rescued the pilot and the boxes of survival gear before the ship burned itself into ashes.  It was a combat ship and it's SOP for such things to destroy themselves to prevent the enemy from gaining valuable information from it and its computer systems.

Pilot turned out to be female.  One of the boxes included a combat/survival suit but its "plumbing" was set for males.  Bureaucratic SNAFU's occur in galactic empires too.  So she gave it to me since she couldn't use it.  So I would up with an NPC live-in alien girlfriend, who because of her computer in her pilot suit, learned English fairly rapidly.  I became a poor man's Iron Man.

Had enough strength to lift/carry/throw a heavy car.  Had sealed systems and a limited nano-regen ability with the suit.  Had limited invulnerability - bullet/grenade-proof.  Couldn't fly but I could run between 60-100 mph.  And I could jump about 3-6 stories straight up.  Had two blasters in the suit.  One basically some kind of laser.  The other was either some kind of repulsor or a freeze/paralysis ray.  Would like to do something like that again.

ah, those were the days.  Wearing an armored suit and running full bore into a tree to find out how tough the armor was, since it didn't look like metal armor but was some kind of composite armor.  Alien girl pantomiming lifting things up and pointing to things I might be able to lift, since hadn't learned English yet - took about a month for that to happen.  Pointing to the two "jewels" on my gloves and trying to pantomime making them work.  
Figure this guy is a writer. Was up at his cabin away from distractions so he could concentrate on his latest novel. Make him a sci-fi/fantasy writer

With regards a character choice, I'd probably go with an ex-soldier drummed out of the forces for striking a superior officer and refusing to carry out an order (on moral grounds). He's no saint, but he'd done a couple of terms and was sick of fighting wars for politicians for reasons that seemed to be forgotten after a few years. Once released from military prison his life was basically ruined, for doing the right thing, so he's embittered but a decent guy underneath.

Maybe a sandman type character, superhuman strength, ability to harden his form (and reduce mobility/agility but increase durability) or stretch quite a distance, and become water like, with certain physical attacks passing through or doing reduced damage. Vulnerable to extreme cold (freezing) attacks and heat (fusing body together) and he can regenerate only when touching natural earth/stone/sand, but when doing so it's quite rapid. The more 'dispersed' he is, the less his ability to exert strength.

If too similar to the others then maybe a wildfire type - given physical form only in certain circumstances (by light of the moon, for instance) when he has decent strength and durability, at all other times he is an energy being who struggles to control his powers (fire body, flight, energy blast, no need to breathe. Any of his powers can flare up out of control at any moment)

Alright, sorry I've been AWOL lately guys. New schedule to get used to again. I'll be attempting to post around everywhere today, including IC and OOC posts here. Hopefully my connection will hold

No worries - I'm getting hammered by work (53 hours last week, 57 this coming week) so my plans of picking up my posting rate after the kids went back to school have been scuppered a bit, but it (stupid long hours at work) won't (can't) last, so just gotta post when I can. Totally understand when you guys have real life to deal with first, no problems whatsoever.