Wow. What a fantastic archive of comic book characters written up for Champions!
Really, wow.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Song of Ice and Fire Preview
I had a hand in writing some of the Campaign Guide for the Song of Ice and Fire roleplaying game based on George R.R. Martin's novels. I worked on that last year around this time and since I'm now working for Green Ronin I've seen a PDF of the core rulebook for SIFRP (as they call it) and it looks fantastic -- both in terms of visuals and rules.If you're as excited to see the final product as I am you'll want to check out the new preview that's been posted on the Green Ronin site. Here's the link. Honestly, I haven't been this excited about a new RPG in a while.
The book should be coming soon, but approvals are time-consuming especially for books with so much information in them. Despite the delay, I'm sure they'll be worth the wait.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Rufus Improves
Tuesday's D&D game was a better for me. I've posted before about how frustrating my dwarven cleric has been, but he seems to be getting better and I think there a few reasons for that.
1) I've changed the character's powers around so that he's able to keep up in combat (although my dice really aren't working with me on that front). I've checked through the Wizards forums on optimizing characters and while I generally find that approach to gaming as being lame and counter to what I really enjoy about roleplaying -- which is the actual role-playing of the character -- the tips there have helped me to get the character to a point where I feel like I'm contributing.
2) I and the other players have realized we work much better as a team when we're near enough to one another that Seth's warlod Valok and my cleric Rufus can use our powers to aid them. Sure, there are times when one of the characters needs to go outside our range, but they usually pay for doing it and/or shortly return to the group.
3) This last one bothers me a bit because it's very meta, but it's become more common for those of us sitting around the table to talk to the other players out of character to explain what we're going to do next and why. There are a couple of instances that stand out in which I told another player to either delay their action so I could set up a bonus for their daily power, or told them to wait until next round to pull out the big guns so I could get off an effect that would help them. Part of me likes the tactics that arise from this sort of communication, but the other part of me is bothered by the fact that such communication is necessary. Sure, I can rationalize it by saying the characters are barking commands and requests to each other, but the table talk that takes place between the players to set up this or that effect tells me that it would be impossible for the characters to communicate such concepts in the middle of combat.
Regardless, the game is going better for me. Wait, no, that's unfair, the game isn't; the game's been very good the whole time. Rather, my character is performing much better for me, so that's good.
Oh, and I finally rolled a natural 20 with my vicious warhammer, hit the big ice demon thingy, and did 20 or so points of damage. And killed the thing. Woohoo.
1) I've changed the character's powers around so that he's able to keep up in combat (although my dice really aren't working with me on that front). I've checked through the Wizards forums on optimizing characters and while I generally find that approach to gaming as being lame and counter to what I really enjoy about roleplaying -- which is the actual role-playing of the character -- the tips there have helped me to get the character to a point where I feel like I'm contributing.
2) I and the other players have realized we work much better as a team when we're near enough to one another that Seth's warlod Valok and my cleric Rufus can use our powers to aid them. Sure, there are times when one of the characters needs to go outside our range, but they usually pay for doing it and/or shortly return to the group.
3) This last one bothers me a bit because it's very meta, but it's become more common for those of us sitting around the table to talk to the other players out of character to explain what we're going to do next and why. There are a couple of instances that stand out in which I told another player to either delay their action so I could set up a bonus for their daily power, or told them to wait until next round to pull out the big guns so I could get off an effect that would help them. Part of me likes the tactics that arise from this sort of communication, but the other part of me is bothered by the fact that such communication is necessary. Sure, I can rationalize it by saying the characters are barking commands and requests to each other, but the table talk that takes place between the players to set up this or that effect tells me that it would be impossible for the characters to communicate such concepts in the middle of combat.
Regardless, the game is going better for me. Wait, no, that's unfair, the game isn't; the game's been very good the whole time. Rather, my character is performing much better for me, so that's good.
Oh, and I finally rolled a natural 20 with my vicious warhammer, hit the big ice demon thingy, and did 20 or so points of damage. And killed the thing. Woohoo.
Friday, November 14, 2008
The Home Team Returns
After last week's rather unsuccessful attempt to run M&M while the returns were coming in on the presidential race, this week's session was great!
The set up for the game was pretty standard, but most of the players are unfamiliar with the system, so I wanted an encounter that would serve as a learning experience for us. A number of the first few sessions will be like that. I want the players to experiment with their powers, their feats, and the combat system a bit so they can see what they like and what they don't.
During this game the PCs were asked to check out some weird goings-on down by the docks at the behest of their government liaisons Agents Nolan and Parish. The characters all split up because they had some time to kill before meeting up at the docks. A couple of characters did some legwork, then started their stakeout.
Time passed, nothing major seemed to be happening (other than finding a diner nearby with good muffins), so they changed their location and continued to watch for anything unusual. Eventually Bug spotted something happening on the docks far to the east of their location. Anemone checked it out astrally and told the others that the "longshoremen" were German and they were quickly loading a tramp steamer with crates. The Home Team charged into action. Bug moved into the steamer to sabotage it. Patriot set off his area of effect dazzle and blinded some of the thugs. Anemone teleported to the end of the pier and used Fearsome Presence to intimidate some of the men down there. And Sally Steel tried to intimidate some of the men into giving up.
The Nazi thugs put up a fight and one of their number tranformed into a werewolf -- who actually managed to tag Anemone with a claw. Unfortunatley, the fight quickly turned against the bad guys and when the thugs all fell or were entangled, Sea-Wolf dove into the water to make his getaway.
During the fight no one tried anythign particularly funky, although it was nice to see some of them actually take some damage and have to rethink their tactics a bit. Sally Steel took advantage of her high strength to grab one of the Nazis and hurl him into another, which knocked them both out and into the water. (Which was pretty cool.) Then tried the same thing with a crate, but she ended up burning through it and setting it on fire. But it didn't matter because the Nazi she threatened with it surrendered because he had at least that much sense.
After the fight, Sally watched the thugs while the other members of the team investigated the boat. Then she spotted some "amphibimen" who'd emerged from the water and were trying to steal two of the crates. With the aid of Anemone and Patriot they drove the creatures off, but it's still a mystery as to what they were up to.
Upon examining the contents of the crates the team discovered mystical tomes and ancient artifacts. Clearly a collection of morsels to feed Hitler's appetite for occult items.
After that long recap, I really just wanted to say how much fun the game was. One of the players said the fight had a good balance of looking pretty easy while also maintaining a bit of menace, which was good to hear. I had no interest in knocking out or seriously endangering any of the characters. It's important for me when running a game for players new to that game to have the first few sessions be mostly about fun and learning the system. No heavy story concepts. No major defeats. It's my time to lay some groundwork and set the tone of the game. Plus, most importantly, I want to make the players feel like they're playing heroes and not schlubs with powers.
After this session, I'm pretty jazzed about the game. Now I have to figure out exactly what the characters are going to want to do next. Investigating the books and artifacts will be high on the lsit, but I still have more story to tell that doesn't invovle that. I'll give it some thought.
Stand by for adventure!
The set up for the game was pretty standard, but most of the players are unfamiliar with the system, so I wanted an encounter that would serve as a learning experience for us. A number of the first few sessions will be like that. I want the players to experiment with their powers, their feats, and the combat system a bit so they can see what they like and what they don't.
During this game the PCs were asked to check out some weird goings-on down by the docks at the behest of their government liaisons Agents Nolan and Parish. The characters all split up because they had some time to kill before meeting up at the docks. A couple of characters did some legwork, then started their stakeout.
Time passed, nothing major seemed to be happening (other than finding a diner nearby with good muffins), so they changed their location and continued to watch for anything unusual. Eventually Bug spotted something happening on the docks far to the east of their location. Anemone checked it out astrally and told the others that the "longshoremen" were German and they were quickly loading a tramp steamer with crates. The Home Team charged into action. Bug moved into the steamer to sabotage it. Patriot set off his area of effect dazzle and blinded some of the thugs. Anemone teleported to the end of the pier and used Fearsome Presence to intimidate some of the men down there. And Sally Steel tried to intimidate some of the men into giving up.
The Nazi thugs put up a fight and one of their number tranformed into a werewolf -- who actually managed to tag Anemone with a claw. Unfortunatley, the fight quickly turned against the bad guys and when the thugs all fell or were entangled, Sea-Wolf dove into the water to make his getaway.
During the fight no one tried anythign particularly funky, although it was nice to see some of them actually take some damage and have to rethink their tactics a bit. Sally Steel took advantage of her high strength to grab one of the Nazis and hurl him into another, which knocked them both out and into the water. (Which was pretty cool.) Then tried the same thing with a crate, but she ended up burning through it and setting it on fire. But it didn't matter because the Nazi she threatened with it surrendered because he had at least that much sense.
After the fight, Sally watched the thugs while the other members of the team investigated the boat. Then she spotted some "amphibimen" who'd emerged from the water and were trying to steal two of the crates. With the aid of Anemone and Patriot they drove the creatures off, but it's still a mystery as to what they were up to.
Upon examining the contents of the crates the team discovered mystical tomes and ancient artifacts. Clearly a collection of morsels to feed Hitler's appetite for occult items.
After that long recap, I really just wanted to say how much fun the game was. One of the players said the fight had a good balance of looking pretty easy while also maintaining a bit of menace, which was good to hear. I had no interest in knocking out or seriously endangering any of the characters. It's important for me when running a game for players new to that game to have the first few sessions be mostly about fun and learning the system. No heavy story concepts. No major defeats. It's my time to lay some groundwork and set the tone of the game. Plus, most importantly, I want to make the players feel like they're playing heroes and not schlubs with powers.
After this session, I'm pretty jazzed about the game. Now I have to figure out exactly what the characters are going to want to do next. Investigating the books and artifacts will be high on the lsit, but I still have more story to tell that doesn't invovle that. I'll give it some thought.
Stand by for adventure!
Monday, November 10, 2008
WizKids: The End
I just had this announcement from Topps/WizKids passed along to me be Seth.
This makes me so very, very sad.
I wish I had some ability to do something about it. I'd love to take over some of those lines and turn it into a viable business again.
But, at the same time I'm thankful for the time I spent there. It changed my life. I moved to the Seattle area for that job. I loved working on the games. I loved the people I worked with. I advanced my career significantly. And I met my girlfriend.
I knew when I left two-plus years ago that it was the right time to get out. I knew I didn't want to be there for the (not-so-)long slide to failure, but it's still very sad to see it go away completely.
This makes me so very, very sad.
I wish I had some ability to do something about it. I'd love to take over some of those lines and turn it into a viable business again.
But, at the same time I'm thankful for the time I spent there. It changed my life. I moved to the Seattle area for that job. I loved working on the games. I loved the people I worked with. I advanced my career significantly. And I met my girlfriend.
I knew when I left two-plus years ago that it was the right time to get out. I knew I didn't want to be there for the (not-so-)long slide to failure, but it's still very sad to see it go away completely.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Television Shall Be Our Destroyer!
I "ran" M&M last night, but because it was election night we got very little gaming done. We mostly wrapped up the conversations that grew out of last session's short fight with Iron Cross and his Iron Troopers at the War Bond Rally and had a short encounter with some mobsters who wanted to reintroduce themselves to the Bug.
The TV was on in the background, but it was just too large a distraction to get much done, especually since everyone around the table was invested in what was happening on screen. So, we stopped to watch McCain concede and we stopped to watch Obama be presidential, plus a few other moments of joking about the pundits and projections.
Anyway, the game was sort of a waste and we're going to pick it up next week when the PCs go to investigate some unusual activity on the waterfront.
Lesson relearned: Don't have a TV on when you're trying to game.
The TV was on in the background, but it was just too large a distraction to get much done, especually since everyone around the table was invested in what was happening on screen. So, we stopped to watch McCain concede and we stopped to watch Obama be presidential, plus a few other moments of joking about the pundits and projections.
Anyway, the game was sort of a waste and we're going to pick it up next week when the PCs go to investigate some unusual activity on the waterfront.
Lesson relearned: Don't have a TV on when you're trying to game.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Another D&D Game, Another D&D Post
This week's Tuesday game was D&D. In this game I'm playing a dwarven cleric and I am less than enthralled with the character.
In this week's game we had to deal with a giant tree-thing that used to be an Orcus cultist, but gave herself over to Orcus so she could "live forever." A side-effect of her little ceremony was to animate a bunch of the undead in the graveyard.
The DM (John) came up with a cool random-effect generator -- a stack of cards that he flipped over each round -- so that more zombies would spew out at random or a flaming pit would appear or treasure would erupt out of graves, etc. It was very cool.
The wizard Taeryn (played by Kristian) and the ranger Balasaar (Mike) had good success targetting the zombies from range and taking out scads of them, although Balasaar ran into some trouble when he ran into the mausoleum to deal with the tree-thing and had to flee.
The rest of us (my cleric, Seth's warlord, and Wil's fighter) dealth with things as they burst out of the ground nearby and tried to make our way to the mausoleum. This is where my problems started.
The cleric isn't meant to run around solo. Sure, he can deal damage like anyone, but he doesn't have any good area attacks that help him to power through a handful of lame-o zombie minions. So when a crew of four zombies pop up nearby Rufus (my cleric) has to spend 4+ rounds killing them before he can move on unless someone else lends a hand, which happened a bit. And the whole time I was examining the character trying to figure out why he wasn't fun for me and I came up with two things:
1) he needs to be part of a group for his powers to have their desired effect and we were very spread out in this game, and
2) the cleric's buffing effects don't seem either extreme or interesting enough to really carry the class. Or maybe it's that I don't find the powers to be extreme or interesting enough.
Thankfully at the end of the night we'd gained enough experience to gain a level so I gained a 3rd level attack power and swapped out a lower level power for one I hope will be a bit more interesting.
The DM has offered to let me swap out my character, but I think I want to experiment with what's available to me before I give up on him.
As I said in my last post; magic is really what I groove on in fantasy games and I guess I was hoping the cleric's effects might be cool enough to keep my interest. So far they're not, but maybe I'll find a combination of powers that work for me.
In this week's game we had to deal with a giant tree-thing that used to be an Orcus cultist, but gave herself over to Orcus so she could "live forever." A side-effect of her little ceremony was to animate a bunch of the undead in the graveyard.
The DM (John) came up with a cool random-effect generator -- a stack of cards that he flipped over each round -- so that more zombies would spew out at random or a flaming pit would appear or treasure would erupt out of graves, etc. It was very cool.
The wizard Taeryn (played by Kristian) and the ranger Balasaar (Mike) had good success targetting the zombies from range and taking out scads of them, although Balasaar ran into some trouble when he ran into the mausoleum to deal with the tree-thing and had to flee.
The rest of us (my cleric, Seth's warlord, and Wil's fighter) dealth with things as they burst out of the ground nearby and tried to make our way to the mausoleum. This is where my problems started.
The cleric isn't meant to run around solo. Sure, he can deal damage like anyone, but he doesn't have any good area attacks that help him to power through a handful of lame-o zombie minions. So when a crew of four zombies pop up nearby Rufus (my cleric) has to spend 4+ rounds killing them before he can move on unless someone else lends a hand, which happened a bit. And the whole time I was examining the character trying to figure out why he wasn't fun for me and I came up with two things:
1) he needs to be part of a group for his powers to have their desired effect and we were very spread out in this game, and
2) the cleric's buffing effects don't seem either extreme or interesting enough to really carry the class. Or maybe it's that I don't find the powers to be extreme or interesting enough.
Thankfully at the end of the night we'd gained enough experience to gain a level so I gained a 3rd level attack power and swapped out a lower level power for one I hope will be a bit more interesting.
The DM has offered to let me swap out my character, but I think I want to experiment with what's available to me before I give up on him.
As I said in my last post; magic is really what I groove on in fantasy games and I guess I was hoping the cleric's effects might be cool enough to keep my interest. So far they're not, but maybe I'll find a combination of powers that work for me.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday D&D
My Sunday crew has had a hard time getting together regularly over the last few months. Summers are always full of conventions, vacations, and other events that disrupt our weekend gaming. Anyway, now that it's firmly into Fall, the game as picked up again. Since what we were playing was interrupted, we decided to start a new D&D game run by one of the guys who hasn't run anything for us before. I missed the first session, but jumped into the second one with no problems. Here's the set up:
We're members of the Waterdeep guard and in the first session the other players did some questionable things that have earned our group a bad reputation. (I guess stopping people from looting an inn, then taking it over for yourselves just didn't sit well with some.) So, we were sent out of town to take care of a problem at a nearby monastary and along the way hilarity ensues.
I don't really need to get into the details of the story. What I really wanted to concentrate on was my character and the play experience. I'm playing a human wizard who's all about control (this is 4th edition D&D, if I hadn't mentioned that), so he uses an orb to extend his controlling abilities, and he has a number of spells that slow, daze, immobilize, or in some way hinder his targets.
I had a blast! This is the first session in which I felt like I was consistently effective and that the powers I was using were not only cool, but that they were helping the other characters. I was able to stand back out of harms way (mostly) and tie up our opponents, which made it easier for the hand-to-hand members of the party to step up and do their thing.
I realized a few years ago what I really enjoy about D&D and gaming in general: Magic. Sure it's fun to chop people up with a sword or get in a really good backstab, but magic and spells are where it's at for me. They effects are cooler and more varied and the way they "look" in the game is also cooler. "I blast you with a fireball" is so much more satisfying to me than, "I slice you with my greatsword."
Anyway, I was happy to finally have that response to the game. So far I've felt a little separated from the new system, probably because I've been analyzing it a bit. Sunday's game broke that down for me and I really had a good time. Hopefully that will carry over to my Tuesday night game (tonight!).
This post makes me wonder what others think of the new system in terms of the "fun factor". Have you been able to just enjoy the game and what your character can do? Is it too fiddly? (With the minis and various effects, etc.) Do you feel constrained by the powers? Or is it hitting on all cylinders for you?
I'll fill you in on any cool events from tonight's game. I think it's going to be all about zombie killing, so I may get to use Turn Undead finally.
We're members of the Waterdeep guard and in the first session the other players did some questionable things that have earned our group a bad reputation. (I guess stopping people from looting an inn, then taking it over for yourselves just didn't sit well with some.) So, we were sent out of town to take care of a problem at a nearby monastary and along the way hilarity ensues.
I don't really need to get into the details of the story. What I really wanted to concentrate on was my character and the play experience. I'm playing a human wizard who's all about control (this is 4th edition D&D, if I hadn't mentioned that), so he uses an orb to extend his controlling abilities, and he has a number of spells that slow, daze, immobilize, or in some way hinder his targets.
I had a blast! This is the first session in which I felt like I was consistently effective and that the powers I was using were not only cool, but that they were helping the other characters. I was able to stand back out of harms way (mostly) and tie up our opponents, which made it easier for the hand-to-hand members of the party to step up and do their thing.
I realized a few years ago what I really enjoy about D&D and gaming in general: Magic. Sure it's fun to chop people up with a sword or get in a really good backstab, but magic and spells are where it's at for me. They effects are cooler and more varied and the way they "look" in the game is also cooler. "I blast you with a fireball" is so much more satisfying to me than, "I slice you with my greatsword."
Anyway, I was happy to finally have that response to the game. So far I've felt a little separated from the new system, probably because I've been analyzing it a bit. Sunday's game broke that down for me and I really had a good time. Hopefully that will carry over to my Tuesday night game (tonight!).
This post makes me wonder what others think of the new system in terms of the "fun factor". Have you been able to just enjoy the game and what your character can do? Is it too fiddly? (With the minis and various effects, etc.) Do you feel constrained by the powers? Or is it hitting on all cylinders for you?
I'll fill you in on any cool events from tonight's game. I think it's going to be all about zombie killing, so I may get to use Turn Undead finally.
Friday, October 24, 2008
M&M: The Home Team
This last Tuesday night I ran the first session of my new Mutants & Masterminds game. I'd brought up the idea a week or two earlier and in the brief discussion that followed the players decided that they wanted to play a group of heroes that were already a team and they wanted to play in a fairly straightforward Golden Age game.
The game is set in early 1942 (although I forgot that it was winter in the first game, whoops) and the characters have been recruited to be the "Home Team" while the other heroes are off fighting on the frontlines or carrying out Top Secret missions. They'd only just met at the beginning of the first session when they were being shown around their new base; a tricked out Brownstone in Cape City.
Cape City is my homebrew setting for many of my superhero games over the last 10-12 years. It's very Freedom City/Astro City in feel. Oh, and it's named Cape City because it's actually located on a cape (the geological formation, not the article of clothing). I like using Cape City because I know a lot about it and can easily pull ideas out of my head for running games, but I can also alter things in the city to fit whatever's appropriate or interesting for the latest game.
I wanted to post the write-ups for the characters, so everyone can see what I have to work with. It's an interesting team with some pretty normal characters as well as some more . . . challenging ones. Oh, I'm using the Hero Lab software to create all the heroes and villains. It's a great program that also allows me to output the characters in HTML like you see below. Here they are.
Patriot
The man who would become Patriot was born and killed in the 1700s. He was the first American to die in defense of the country at the start of the War for Independence. He was "reborn" shortly thereafter and has been fighting to defend the country ever since. (Played by Seth Johnson.)
C.L.I.V.E.
C.L.I.V.E. (Clockwork Living Intelligent Valet Extraordinaire) was recovered by U.S. forces from the abandoned ruins of a mansion after the fall of France. His origins are unclear, but he claims to be over 200 years old. (Played by Mike Mulvihill.)
Anemone
Anemone (named for the flower, not the undersea critter) is mostly a mystery. What is known is that she's a psychic with a storefront shop in the New Haven section of Cape City. (Played by Kristian Haapa-aho.)
Sally Steel
Sally's husband volunteered to join the Army and Sally badly wanted to join him on the front lines, but she was repeatedly laughed out of the recruiters' offices. So, she signed up to work in a factory. Late one night the notorious Axis spymaster and Thule society sorcerer Eldric von Hexenblut attacked the steel mill. An explosion setn Sally into a vat of molten metal, but instead of dying she took on its properties! (Played by Wilhelm Fitzpatrick.)
The Bug
The Bug is a consumate inventor, but after falling on hard times he was forced into using his inventions for the Mob. After threatening to leave their "employ" his bosses ratted him out to the Feds and the Bug went to prison. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor the Bug volunteered to do whatever he could to help his country. Now the country has taken him on up on that offer. (Played by John Aegard.)
The game is set in early 1942 (although I forgot that it was winter in the first game, whoops) and the characters have been recruited to be the "Home Team" while the other heroes are off fighting on the frontlines or carrying out Top Secret missions. They'd only just met at the beginning of the first session when they were being shown around their new base; a tricked out Brownstone in Cape City.
Cape City is my homebrew setting for many of my superhero games over the last 10-12 years. It's very Freedom City/Astro City in feel. Oh, and it's named Cape City because it's actually located on a cape (the geological formation, not the article of clothing). I like using Cape City because I know a lot about it and can easily pull ideas out of my head for running games, but I can also alter things in the city to fit whatever's appropriate or interesting for the latest game.
I wanted to post the write-ups for the characters, so everyone can see what I have to work with. It's an interesting team with some pretty normal characters as well as some more . . . challenging ones. Oh, I'm using the Hero Lab software to create all the heroes and villains. It's a great program that also allows me to output the characters in HTML like you see below. Here they are.
Patriot
The man who would become Patriot was born and killed in the 1700s. He was the first American to die in defense of the country at the start of the War for Independence. He was "reborn" shortly thereafter and has been fighting to defend the country ever since. (Played by Seth Johnson.)
Power Level: 8; Power Points Spent: 120/120
STR: +4 (18), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +4 (18), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +5 (20)
Tough: +11, Fort: +6, Ref: +5, Will: +4
Skills: Diplomacy 8 (+13), Gather Information 6 (+11), Notice 6 (+9), Search 5 (+7), Sense Motive 7 (+10)
Feats: Benefit - Diplomatic Immunity 1, Benefit - Security Clearance 1, Benefit - Wealth (Rank 24: Rich) 4, Connected, Fearless, Improved Initiative 1, Jack-Of-All-Trades, Well-Informed
Powers:
Immortal (Immunity 1) (Aging)
Indomitable (Protection 7) (+7 Toughness)
Indefatigable (Speed 4) (Speed: 100 mph, 880 ft./rnd)
Liberty Silver (Device 5) (Powers: Blast 10)
Gun (Blast 10) (DC 25, Alternate Powers: Bell (Blast 6) [Alt], Torch (Dazzle 10) [Alt], Torch (Dazzle 6) [Alt], Sword (Strike 10) [Alt], Eagle (Stun 6) [Alt])
Bell (Blast 6) [Alt] (DC 21, Extras: Area, Explosion (60 ft. explosion - General))
Torch (Dazzle 10) [Alt] (DC 20, Affects: Two Sense Types (2/r) - Visual Senses)
Torch (Dazzle 6) [Alt] (DC 16, Affects: Two Sense Types (2/r) - Visual Senses, Extras: Area, Burst (30 ft. radius - General))
Sword (Strike 10) [Alt] (DC 25, Extras: Penetrating)
Eagle (Stun 6) [Alt] (DC 16, Extras: Range 1 (ranged))
Attack Bonus: +6 (Ranged: +6, Melee: +6, Grapple: +10)
Attacks: Unarmed Attack, +6 (DC 19), Gun (Blast 10), +6 (DC 25), Bell (Blast 6) [Alt], +6 (DC 21), Torch (Dazzle 10) [Alt], +6 (DC Fort/Ref 20), Torch (Dazzle 6) [Alt], +6 (DC Fort/Ref 16), Sword (Strike 10) [Alt], +6 (DC 25), Eagle (Stun 6) [Alt], +6 (DC Fort/Staged 16)
Defense: +5 (Flat-footed: +3), Knockback: -5
Initiative: +7
Languages: Native Language
C.L.I.V.E.
C.L.I.V.E. (Clockwork Living Intelligent Valet Extraordinaire) was recovered by U.S. forces from the abandoned ruins of a mansion after the fall of France. His origins are unclear, but he claims to be over 200 years old. (Played by Mike Mulvihill.)
Power Level: 8; Power Points Spent: 120/120
STR: +8 (26), DEX: +2 (14), CON: +0 (-), INT: +1 (12), WIS: +0 (10), CHA: +2 (14)
Tough: +16, Fort: Immune, Ref: +2, Will: +2
Skills: Diplomacy 4 (+6), Drive 2 (+4), Intimidate 2 (+4), Knowledge: Current Events 3 (+4), Knowledge: History 4 (+5), Language 1 (+1), Notice 4 (+4), Prof: Valet 8 (+8), Search 4 (+5)
Feats: All-Out Attack, Ambidexterity, Attack Focus (Melee) 8, Defensive Attack, Distract (Intimidate), Eidetic Memory, Elusive Target, Fighting Style: Boxing, Improved Block 1, Improved Grapple, Interpose, Power Attack, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 1
Powers:
Density 5 (+10 STR, +2 Toughness, Weight Multiplier: x2; Adds: Super-Strength 1, Immovable 1, Power Feats: Innate, Extras: Duration 1 (continuous), Flaws: Permanent)
Super-Strength 1 (+5 STR carrying capacity; +1 STR to some checks)
Immovable 1 (Resist Movement: +4, Resist Knockback: -1)
Deflect 6 (Deflects: Slow Projectiles (1/r))
Immunity 12 (Life Support, Aging, Sleep, Starvation & Thirst)
Impervious Toughness 4
Super-Senses 2 (Ultra-Hearing, Low-Light Vision)
Attack Bonus: +0 (Ranged: +0, Melee: +8, Grapple: +16/+17)
Attacks: Unarmed Attack, +8 (DC 23)
Defense: +0 (Flat-footed: +0), Knockback: -12
Initiative: +2
Languages: French, English
Anemone
Anemone (named for the flower, not the undersea critter) is mostly a mystery. What is known is that she's a psychic with a storefront shop in the New Haven section of Cape City. (Played by Kristian Haapa-aho.)
Power Level: 8; Power Points Spent: 120/120
STR: +0 (10), DEX: +2 (14), CON: +2 (14), INT: +1 (12), WIS: +5 (20), CHA: +5 (20)
Tough: +2, Fort: +6, Ref: +6, Will: +6
Skills: Concentration 4 (+9), Diplomacy 3 (+8), Drive 1 (+3), Handle Animal 2 (+7), Intimidate 8 (+13), Knowledge: Behavioural Science 2 (+3), Medicine 1 (+6), Prof: Psychic 2 (+7), Sense Motive 4 (+9), Swim 1 (+1)
Feats: Attack Focus (Ranged) 5, Attractive 2, Eidetic Memory, Fearless, Fearsome Presence 3, Improved Initiative 1, Inspire 1, Leadership, Master Plan
Powers:
Astral Form 4 (Alternate Powers: Telepathy 8 [Alt], Emotion Control 8 [Alt], Mental Blast 5 [Alt], Power Feats: Subtle 1 (subtle))
Telepathy 8 [Alt] (DC 18, Adds: Communication 8, Mind Reading 8)
Emotion Control 8 [Alt] (DC 18)
Mental Blast 5 [Alt] (DC 20)
Mind Shield 6 (Impervious +6 to Will saves vs. Mental effects)
Shield 10 (+10 dodge bonus)
Teleport 2 (200 ft. as move action; DC 12)
Attack Bonus: +3 (Ranged: +8, Melee: +3, Grapple: +3)
Attacks: Unarmed Attack, +3 (DC 15), Mental Blast 5 [Alt], +8 (DC Will 20)
Defense: +14 (Flat-footed: +2), Knockback: -1
Initiative: +6
Languages: English
Sally Steel
Sally's husband volunteered to join the Army and Sally badly wanted to join him on the front lines, but she was repeatedly laughed out of the recruiters' offices. So, she signed up to work in a factory. Late one night the notorious Axis spymaster and Thule society sorcerer Eldric von Hexenblut attacked the steel mill. An explosion setn Sally into a vat of molten metal, but instead of dying she took on its properties! (Played by Wilhelm Fitzpatrick.)
Power Level: 8; Power Points Spent: 124/120
STR: +7 (11/24), DEX: +1 (12), CON: +9 (14/28), INT: +0 (10), WIS: +1 (12), CHA: +2 (14)
Tough: +9/+12, Fort: +10, Ref: +4, Will: +6
Skills: Craft: Steelworker 5 (+5), Diplomacy 6 (+8), Gather Information 2 (+4), Intimidate 6 (+8), Language 1 (+1), Notice 8 (+9), Search 6 (+6), Sense Motive 10 (+11)
Feats: Diehard, Inspire 2, Interpose, Ultimate Effort - Toughness, Fortitude 2
Powers:
Molten Metal Body (Alternate Form 13)
Solid (Powers: Density 6, Immunity 8, Energy Aura 2, Environmental Control 1, Enhanced Ability 1, Enhanced Ability 14, Impervious Toughness 5, Strike 2)
Density 6 (+12 STR, +3 Toughness, Weight Multiplier: x5; Adds: Super-Strength 2, Immovable 2, Extras: Duration 1 (continuous))
Super-Strength 2 (+10 STR carrying capacity; +2 STR to some checks)
Immovable 2 (Resist Movement: +8, Resist Knockback: -2)
Immunity 8 (Environmental Condition: Heat, Suffocation (All), Damage Type: Fire)
Burning Form (Energy Aura 2) (DC 17, Energy Type: Fire, Extras: Duration 1 (continuous), Flaws: Permanent)
Environmental Control 1 (Radius: 5 ft.; Heat (Extreme), Extras: Duration 1 (continuous), Flaws: Permanent)
Enhanced Ability 1 (+1 STR; Ability: Strength)
Enhanced Ability 14 (+14 CON; Ability: Constitution)
Impervious Toughness 5
Metal Fists (Strike 2) (DC 24, Power Feats: Mighty)
Power Settings:
Solid (Powers: Density 6, Immunity 8, Energy Aura 2, Environmental Control 1, Enhanced Ability 1, Enhanced Ability 14, Impervious Toughness 5, Strike 2)
Attack Bonus: +6 (Ranged: +6, Melee: +6, Grapple: +13/+15)
Attacks: Unarmed Attack, +6 (DC 22), Burning Form (Energy Aura 2), +6 (DC 17), Metal Fists (Strike 2), +6 (DC 24)
Defense: +4 (Flat-footed: +2), Knockback: -10/-12
Initiative: +1
Languages: Englsih, Polish
The Bug
The Bug is a consumate inventor, but after falling on hard times he was forced into using his inventions for the Mob. After threatening to leave their "employ" his bosses ratted him out to the Feds and the Bug went to prison. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor the Bug volunteered to do whatever he could to help his country. Now the country has taken him on up on that offer. (Played by John Aegard.)
Power Level: 8; Power Points Spent: 130/120
STR: +2 (14), DEX: +1 (12), CON: +2 (14), INT: +0 (10), WIS: +0 (10), CHA: +0 (10)
Tough: +8, Fort: +6, Ref: +7, Will: +5
Skills: Bluff 12 (+12), Craft: Chemical 12 (+12), Disable Device 12 (+12), Disguise 8 (+8), Knowledge: Technology 12 (+12), Notice 8 (+8), Search 8 (+8)
Feats: Attack Focus (Ranged) 2, Attractive 1, Beginner's Luck, Dodge Focus 6, Equipment 1, Improved Initiative 2, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Luck 2, Second Chance - Choose Hazard 1, Skill Mastery - Choose 1, Ultimate Effort - Choose Action 2
Powers:
HINDER (High Velocity Neural Disrupting Entangling Rifle) (Device 16) [Lose] (Powers: Dazzle 7, Snare 6, Stun 6)
Dazzle 7 (DC 17, Affects: Two Sense Types (2/r) - All Visual, Power Feats: Accurate 2 (+4), Subtle 1 (subtle), Extras: Autofire 1 (interval 2, max +5), Alternate Save (Will), Custom 0 (Linked to Snare))
Snare 6 (DC 16, Power Feats: Accurate 2 (+4), Subtle 1 (subtle), Precise, Extras: Autofire 1 (interval 2, max +5))
Stun 6 (DC 16, Power Feats: Accurate 2 (+4), Subtle 1 (subtle), Extras: Autofire 1 (interval 2, max +5), Range 1 (ranged), Custom 0 (Linked to Snare))
SPICE (Sharp Posi-weave Infiltration coverall, Enhanced) (Device 3) (Powers: Protection 6, Super-Movement 3, Super-Senses 3, Leaping 2, Concealment 3)
Protection 6 (+6 Toughness; Flaws: Limited - Broad Type (Physical Only))
Super-Movement 3 (Slow Fall, Wall-Crawling 2 (full speed))
Super-Senses 3 (Danger Sense: Choose Sense Type, Darkvision)
Leaping 2 (Jumping distance: x5)
Concealment 3 (Sense - Smell, Sense - Sight, Flaws: Blending, Action 3 (full))
Equipment: Camera
Attack Bonus: +2 (Ranged: +4, Melee: +2, Grapple: +4)
Attacks: Unarmed Attack, +2 (DC 17), Dazzle 7, +8 (DC Will 17), Snare 6, +8 (DC Ref/Staged 16), Stun 6, +8 (DC Fort/Staged 16)
Defense: +7 (Flat-footed: +1), Knockback: -4
Initiative: +9
Languages: English
And there you go. Those are the player characters.
New Gig
You can read about it at Green Ronin's Mutants & Masterminds Website, but I've just been hired to be the M&M Game Developer.
I'm excited about the new job and I'll be posting bits and pieces about what I'm working on here. Soon I'll be posting some information and characters (with the players' permission) from my new M&M game here for people to check out. I hope to get to that later today.
I'm excited to be back in gaming a bit more actively and I'm very happy to be working on M&M. I love super-heroes, I love the game system, and I'm going to have a blast with it.
Stand by for adventure!
I'm excited about the new job and I'll be posting bits and pieces about what I'm working on here. Soon I'll be posting some information and characters (with the players' permission) from my new M&M game here for people to check out. I hope to get to that later today.
I'm excited to be back in gaming a bit more actively and I'm very happy to be working on M&M. I love super-heroes, I love the game system, and I'm going to have a blast with it.
Stand by for adventure!
Monster Makeover
Xbox is producing Web-based episodes of a program featuring aspiring make-up artists working their craft. The monsters they're making are all based on popular or soon-to-be-released-and-most-likely-popular video games, so it should be pretty cool to watch.
It's produced in the style of a competitive reality TV program, but the make-up is pretty cool. Plus, if you care to, you can register to win an Xbox Elite, some games, a Zune, and maybe one or two other things.
Zombie's ahoy!
It's produced in the style of a competitive reality TV program, but the make-up is pretty cool. Plus, if you care to, you can register to win an Xbox Elite, some games, a Zune, and maybe one or two other things.
Zombie's ahoy!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Something New
My personal blog has been active for seven years now. It was started as a way to keep friends and family updated on my new life in Seattle.
Over the years a lot of talk of gaming, comics, and writing has crept into that blog. Things that interest me, but don't interest, say, my mom, sisters, and girlfriend all that much.
So, this blog, Stand by for Adventure, will be where I talk about all the geeky things in my life. In addition, I've been working as a freelance writer, editor, and game designer for some time now and I wanted a place to talk about that as well. Whether it's talking about industry goings-on, promoting my work, or just having a place to scribble down some mad ramblings, this is going to be the place.
And since I already have a personal blog, I won't bore you with the everyday things in my life. At least not here.
So . . . stand by for adventure!
Over the years a lot of talk of gaming, comics, and writing has crept into that blog. Things that interest me, but don't interest, say, my mom, sisters, and girlfriend all that much.
So, this blog, Stand by for Adventure, will be where I talk about all the geeky things in my life. In addition, I've been working as a freelance writer, editor, and game designer for some time now and I wanted a place to talk about that as well. Whether it's talking about industry goings-on, promoting my work, or just having a place to scribble down some mad ramblings, this is going to be the place.
And since I already have a personal blog, I won't bore you with the everyday things in my life. At least not here.
So . . . stand by for adventure!
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