Vanguard00

Re: A Thread for Random Musings I love gig days. Got plenty of sleep last night and I'm all juiced up and ready to go. Singin' and playin' in front of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people is about the coolest thing I know, especially when (like today) it's in a park where kids can up and sing with us. They're a hoot when they get goin'. The weather even knocked off a few degrees and came up with a light wind to make it a darn-near perfect day for an outdoor gig. Of course, this whole work thing interferes with it being a truly glorious day, but it's still a good one. I'm just sittin' here in eager anticipation until it's time to go get my funk on. Some days it's just cool to be me. [Which works out well since no one else seems to want the job.]

Re: The Last Word This isn't one of 'em.

Re: FH Grimoire 2: Who has it? His budget. It’s nearly run down so he has to pick and choose which books he buys. Obviously I’ve had it for a couple of weeks, and while I can honestly say that I haven’t read it straight through, I think it’s a great resource. I like the increased styles of magic. Like arcady I think they’re a bit high-powered, but I can get around that. If you have FHG and you liked it, get the FHG II. That’s the best I can tell ya.

Re: The Last Word Says the guy with only one real answer in the WAG thread. (not that I don't still think it's funny, mind you...)

Re: The Last Word sheya

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Thrak's not playing WAG right!! But it's still pretty funny...

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Actually, it was that book and another (Mike Resnick's "Outpost") that gave me the main idea. In both books virtually all the stories are told within the saloon/outpost, though the narration sometimes takes you elsewhere. And I don't mind copying an idea, because it'd be about superheroes and supervillains, not dimension-hopping people or aliens or wierdos or sci-fi bounty hunters, etc. It's not original, like I said, but I can't get the idea out of my head so I think I'm gonna have to give it a shot. Of course, this would be more for me than for any publishing purposes. At most it'll probably only get to a website.

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I'm sure this has been done in one form or another, but I was thinking of writin' a bunch of short stories about a bar for superheroes. Kinda like "Clark's" was in the Wildstorm universe mixed with liberal doses of "Common Grounds" and a touch of "Wild Cards" (in the beginning, anyway). Neutral territory, where everyone can hang out. It's not overly original, really, but I think it'd be kinda fun. Whatcha think?

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Maybe I should just post everything here, sort of a combined cranky/random musing/wag thread. Or maybe I should just go get more coffee and get back to work. Nah.

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Seems this thread is going to just slowly fall off everyone's radar. It just doesn't have the same oomph it used to. How sad.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings Elmer Bernstein died this morning, and while I'm a huge fan and will miss his music and influence, I'm not inclined to start a thread in remembrence because I'm afraid some f#ckwit will mug the thread. But I've got his CD loaded into my computer and damn, that man could compose.

Re: The cranky thread Stop...you'll make me blush. But thanks!

Re: The cranky thread It annoys me that a thread you were enjoying reading and posting to one day suddenly turns into something else completely overnight, usually because one person took something out of context and ran with it. I don't mean your basic thread derailment of the Kara variety. I'm talkin' serious thread mugging and hijacking with only the barest hint of relation to the original topic. And it's not like the new conversation is stimulating. It's aggravating and trollish. Feh! It's not gonna affect my life in the grand scheme of things, but it's pretty annoying. It's downright irksome pre-caffeine.

Re: All the superhero PCs I've ever played Egads…it seems like I’m missing some. These aren’t in order, but it’s the best I can do. PowerStar (traditional “energy†Eber) Tempest (supernorm martial artist) Attacker (low-level super with lots o’ skills & weapons) Morningstar (traditional plasma Eber) Wylde (bestial hero) Revenant (Batman with some powers) Blink (teleporter) Cobalt (brick metal-man) Argent (mentalist) Ballistic (alternately a gunmen or a bow-wielder) Ion (Eber, cosmic level) Impact (Brick) Magnum (Brick) Redstrike (sword-wielding martial artist) Silver Hawk (power armor) Centurion (power armor) Bulldog (Brick) Brawn (Brick, reformed criminal) Raptor (low-level hero with wings) Archangel (high-power hero with wings) Talion (Dark Champs weapons guy) Willpower (…hard to describe…most a brick/martial artist, I guess) Primal (sonic Eber) Tatterdemalion (Dark Champs Green Goblin-esque hero) Vanguard (high-power alien brick/Eber) Grey Cavalier (sword-wielding thrillseeker) Legion (duplicating warrior) Whisper (desolid spy lady) Whisper II (sonic Eber with skills)

Re: The cranky thread In the last couple of weeks I've seen the "server is busy" message a lot. It's getting to the point that any post of mine over one sentence long (including this one) needs to be written on a Word document of some sort and pasted in, because I seem to get it at the worst times (during long posts that I can't recover). Is there a reason the server has been so darn busy lately?

Re: The Last Word We'll return to the "L. Marcus and Bazza Show" after a short break...

Re: A Thread for Random Musings I had this incredible urge to punch this guy dead in the face just a short time ago. He didn't say or do anything to annoy me, and he's actually a pretty decent guy. I just wanted to flatten him, though. Practically hallucinated it, really. I doubt it's related to the fact that I have had neither caffeine nor nicotine this morning.

Re: The Last Word Jim Rome?

Re: Answers & Questions Q: [Frank Burns]I don't see why we have to snipe at each other all the time. I mean, golly...can't we all just get along?[/Frank Burns] A: Well, that's a fine how-do-ya-do!

Re: Perks and Bases I think in some cases the perk could be applied to a base. For example, give the "wealth" perk to a base to simulate a foundation that not only oversees all it's needs, but is able to purchase new equipment or upgrade as appropriate, pay for permanent staff, etc...maybe even pay the resident heroes a monthly stipend. It would keep the PCs from having to deal with actual base finances. You could give the base a contact to simulate the same thing, or just hand-wave it, but it's an idea. And no, I wouldn't give it any sort of discount. I'd simply make it so the PCs could not draw upon the money for personal use (and yes, buying new foci would be a personal use).

Re: Code VS Killing Poll

Re: Code VS Killing Poll Speak not the name of the beast lest you call his attention to you! Oh, wait...that's Cthulhu or something. Nevermind. (just kiddin', Wanderer!) But that's acceptable. To the Nazis (and I mean those in charge, not the everyday "following orders" soldier), a superhero might very well be one who is able to systematically decimate their foes, whether it's the Allied powers at Normandy or thousands of Jews at Auschwitz (the fabled "WarHawk"). Different moral for different people. Cannibals may view their superhero as one who can eat people in mere seconds (the legendary "Captain Pirahna!"). A Quaker society might have a superhero who's sole power is to be able to make crops grow (the mythical "Brother Green"). Society has to point the way. That's why I said interpretation is allowed in one's definition of moral and ethical guidelines. It's all in the eye of the beholder. Well, it's all just theory and speculation, of course. That's what makes it fun. Otherwise it'd be like work, and that'd just suck.

Re: Code VS Killing Poll Sorry that we got a bit off topic, nexus (cuz that never happens on the boards ). I did answer the question as asked, though, way back near the beginning. It's possible we've reached a philosophical impasse anyway, so we can let it go if you'd prefer.

Re: Code VS Killing Poll Aah...my mistake. But I still disagree The word "superhero" is, of course, one humans invented. But the definition is not dependent upon the judgment of a normal, but rather whether the actions and motives of the person in question fit within the concept of what it means to be a "superhero". It's my contention that no audience of any sort is necessary for one to be a superhero. Even if said audience is present there's no need for them to view the individual in a positive light. It is enough that the individual posseses powers and abilities above the norm (to qualify for the "super" part), and that he or she has behaved in a courageous and noble manner (which includes motive/intent--and that's the "hero" part of the word). To (lamely) attempt to put this on some sort of track relating to the original question, it's neither "courageous" nor "noble" to kill indiscriminately, or in a manner contradictory to that particular society's moral and ethical standards.

Re: Code VS Killing Poll I'll address this later on. I'll agree with this to a point. I maintain that the distinction between "human" and "superhuman" as separate species is unrealistic. I would consider Superman "human" for all intents and purposes. The fact that he is Kryptonian is of no consequence. "Human" doesn't mean "homo sapien". "Human" is a collection of aspects of nature and characteristics that separate us from lower animals. But that's beside the point, I think... And again I disagree (but in a fun way...I'm enjoying this little exploration). It does not matter what anyone else thinks. It matters what the superhero thinks. In a recent issue of Captain America (I think...maybe it was "Avengers". I can't remember now), a guy jumps into a burning building and holds up the collapsing roof so Cap (or whoever it was) can save the kids. The guy is definitely super strong, but he's not invulnerable, and when the building collapses he dies. The guy is a superhero. He possesses superhuman abilities and did the right thing for the right reasons. No one will know his name except for Cap (or whoever it was) and the guy's wife, but he's a superhero. The perceptions of the public are inconsequential in determining whether you do the right thing or not. You should do the right thing because it's the right thing to do, not because everyone's watching. It's the old "ring of invisibility" argument posed by Socrates so long ago (or was it Plato?). If you could get away with it (crime), would you? Superheroes say "No, because it's wrong". Judging a person's actions does not give merit to those actions. The intent and motive behind the actions are what provides merit, even if no one ever knows about it. Remember, we're talking about comics and games here, so we automatically get insight into the characters' heads. To place real-world limitations on the argument would be to nullify the argument all-together. You have to stay within the context of the genre or our whole discussion falls apart, mainly because we don't have superheroes to argue morality with.