Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Bloodswarm Cohort Legionnaire: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42453[/ATTACH] These bad boys are under the command of the bug-winged, Oriental-looking LoI Tribune -- and they're hers, all hers (). Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Tribunes of the Nth Legion of Infinity: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42447[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]42448[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]42449[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]42450[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]42451[/ATTACH] EDIT: I managed to find the list that I've got of who's who in LDM's merry band of malcontents, among which were the names of these five. From left to right, they are: Zek (pointy-eared green guy), Vrul (big blue guy with red cornrow hairstyle), Asa (bug-winged Oriental-looking girl), Rulf (brown-skinned horned guy), and Brekt (lion-man). Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Tribune Daggo: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42446[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Tribune Qzell, Camp Prefect of the Nth Legion of Infinity: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42445[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine I just got the latest group of redone pics back from The Arc today, and here's the first of them -- Legate Skorne of the Nth Legion of Infinity: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42444[/ATTACH] I redesigned the pics of Skorne and the other LoI Tribunes to reflect that, as officers, their uniforms should be a little bit more elaborate-looking -- especially for Lord Dark Matter's elite Legion. Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Dragon Queen, Version 3: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42430[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Thanks; now here's the new version of Bora: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42421[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine I've recently been redoing a lot of the pics that I've done in the past that were done using F2010, and have been making F2011 versions of them, as I like the way that F2011 character pics look a lot better than the previous edition. Here's one of the first ones redone so far -- Pizza Man's character Black Falcon: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42413[/ATTACH] I was able to make her pic look a little more like the P&P drawings of BF that are on her own thread, especially where details like her belt buckle were concerned (I wasn't able to do an accurate version of her buckle using F2010 the first time that I took a stab at doing her pic). Major Tom 2009

Re: The Crimson Aura After reading the description of what the Crimson Aura looked like (and keeping The Arc's costume design), this was what I came up with for her look: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42407[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Aaarrrrr!! Major Tom 2009

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Originally posted by Mjolnir74: Supernal: Imagine what it would be like if Superman and Batman had a love child. Ewwwww... Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine It's so hard to find good help these days, even for supervillains... Nice pics, by the way. Major Tom 2009

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Then they'd better find an alternate universe where neutronium is ridiculously abundant, 'case they're going to need a lot of it if they want to build something like Niven's Ring- world (or a Dyson Sphere). They're also going to need someone whose knowledge and engineering skill is a hell of a lot better than anything Mankind currently possesses at present -- or will for centuries to come. Major Tom 2009

Re: I have a dream. (and MAN was it wierd!) Weird is when you're dreaming that you're stuck on the cowcatcher of one of the old-style trains, and it runs into something while you're still stuck on it. I had the interesting misfortune to have that dream many years ago, and I was sleeping on my side at the time. When the train in the dream had the collision, my head came off the pillow so hard that I sprained my neck (for lack of a better term); not exactly the best way to wake up, let me tell you. Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine The pics which were just posted here are the latest group which I'd gotten back from The Arc once they were ready for posting (thanks again). Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine The last of the Japanese Axis supers was a kunoichi (female ninja) who called herself Shadow Dragon: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42291[/ATTACH] Shadow Dragon had the distinction of being the only one of the four Japanese supers to not be a beneficiary of the von Wulfcragge pro- cess, as she already possessed a superpower of her own -- the pow- er to create a huge area of darkness, in which only she could see. She was also, like most kunoichi, trained in the arts of ninjitsu, and was a skilled martial artist and swordswoman. She was also an ex- pert in the arts of preparing potions, both lethal and non-lethal, as well as being a mistress of disguise. She was also, like most kuno- ichi, a very skilled seductress. Shadow Dragon was believed to be an agent of the Black Dragon Society by Allied intelligence, but they were never able to confirm that belief. Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine The third Japanese Axis super who owed his powers to the von Wulfcragge process was a sumotori (sumo wrestler) who was given the codename Fuji: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42290[/ATTACH] Not only did the von Wulfcragge process transform him into an eight-foot tall mass of superhumanly powerful muscle, it also gave him the ability to increase his density and mass, making it virtually impossible for all but the mightiest of the Allied superhumans to even knock him down or back in a fight. Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Next in line is Tsujikaze (Whirlwind), who like the Eurostar superterrorist Bora in the decades following WW2, possesses the power to control winds: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42289[/ATTACH] Under normal circumstances, the strongest winds that she was able to use in com- bat were equal in strength to an F3 tornado; with extreme effort, however, she could generate winds with a strength comparable to an F5 tornado, but would be left seriously exhausted afterward. Tsujikaze's powers also enabled her to fly at speeds equal to those of the fastest fighter planes that existed at the time. Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine And here are four Axis supers from Japan, starting with Shinden (Magnificent Lightning): [ATTACH=CONFIG]42288[/ATTACH] Shinden, like his teammates Fuji and Tsujikaze, owes his power to the same process that gave the members of Projekt: Sturmfront their powers, and which was shared with Klaus von Wulfcragge's Japanese colleagues. His power enables him to generate and project lightning-like bolts of energy at his enemies and to fly, while his "dyno- suit" not only magnifies those powers, but enables him to better focus them. The suit also enables Shinden to create what is essentially a protective force field around him- self. Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Next up is the Praetorian from Italy: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42287[/ATTACH] Very little is known about this Italian super, other than the fact that on the few occasions that he was confronted by Allied superhumans, he not only displayed superhuman strength and agility of his own, but also an exceptional level of skill in swordsmanship. He was believed to be the commander of an elite unit within the Italian army, whose members were trained to a level equal to that of the U.S. Army Rangers. His armor, which was styled to resemble that of the soldiers of the Roman Empire, was constructed with bulletproof materials; in spite of the weight of this armor, the Praetorian was nevertheless able to move around in it as if he were unencum- bered, due to his superhuman strength. Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Here's the next of the Axis supers, the Iron Knight, also from Germany: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42286[/ATTACH] The armored suit worn by the Iron Knight is surprisingly advanced for its time; it was rumored by Allied intelligence that the scientist Klaus von Wulfcragge was responsible for its design, or had at the very least influenced its design in certain ways. While the armor does provide its wearer with superhuman strength, flight capability, and protection from small-arms fire and chemical weapons, it mounts no on-board weaponry at all. To remedy this shortcoming, a specially- designed 20mm autocannon -- which the Iron Knight uses in the same way that an ordinary soldier uses a machine gun -- was built for his use. The autocannon is magazine-fed, with each magazine holding 12 armor-piercing, explosive-tipped shells. It can be fired either in single-shot mode, 3-shot burst mode, or full-auto. The Iron Knight typically carries five magazines for the auto- cannon; one already loaded in the weapon, and the other five hanging from special attachment points at his waist. Compared to the other armored suit used by another German hero -- Kriegsadler of Projekt: Sturmfront -- the Iron Knight armor is a massive piece of machinery, standing well over seven feet tall. Unlike the last group of German Axis supers that were posted here on this thread, I went with their English names only; considering the mistakes that were made when the German names were posted, this seemed to be the best way to handle it. Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Here are some more WW2 Axis supers, starting with Shieldmaiden: [ATTACH=CONFIG]42285[/ATTACH] Basically, she's a female German version of Captain America, and possesses the same kind of abilities and powers: she's as strong as it's possible to be for a human being, she's extraordinarily fast and agile, is a skilled acrobat and martial-arts combatant, and uses a super-alloy shield which is impervi- ous to most known weapons of that time period. Fortunately, the design of the shield prohibits it from being thrown at an enemy in the same way that Captain America's can be; however, this doesn't make it any less painful to be thwacked by it in a fight. Major Tom 2009

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments? Don't you mean the agony booth? Major Tom 2009

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments? Let's see...in Babylon 5, they had what was called (if I'm remembering correctly) the "death of personality", which involved the total erasure of the convicted's memories and personality, and its replacement with a new set of memories and personality. It was only referred to twice that I know of during the series' run on TV, but was only done once as part of one episode. Something similar to that was mentioned in Michael Z. Williamson's novel The Weapon, in which "mindwiping" was briefly mentioned. In worlds where neural interfacing technology exists (say, for example, those such as described in GURPS Cyberpunk, GURPS Cyberworld, and possibly Shadowrun; it's been a while since I last looked at anything involving that last one), convicted offenders could very well be forcibly implanted with behavioral modifi- cation chips, which would basically program them to be either nearly mindless laborers, obedient soldiers, or (in the case of female offenders, for the most part) sex slaves. Where this last is concerned, a really cruel regime would not only implant the slave chip into the unfortunate woman, but leave her fully aware of what she's doing, but be unable to do anything about it. Of course, for the most truly heinous of crimes, the death penalty would still be in use (especially in those societies where repression of dissent is common, not unlike the situation that existed during the years of the Soviet Union's existence); only the methods of execution would be a little more varied due to existing technology. Major Tom 2009

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... During my recovery from joint fusion surgery, I've been doing a lot of reading, mostly of military sci-fi. I initially started with David Weber's Honor Harrington series (and have, in fact, read all of them to which I was able to get access; the newest book in the series -- A Rising Thunder -- isn't due to be released until the 16th of this month), as well as In Fury Born (an extended version of Path of the Fury) and Out of the Dark. From there, I've since read several of the Bolo stories, and have recently gotten through with A Desert Called Peace and Carnifex (written by Tom Kratman) and Freehold, The Weapon, and Con- tact with Chaos (written by Michael Z. Williamson), as well as Better to beg Forgiveness (also by Williamson). The latter six books mentioned here are worth noting for the fact that both Kratman and Williamson have taken the same general tack, in that the chief enemy in their stories is the U.N. In the case of A Desert Called Peace and Carnifex (I haven't had the chance yet to read the other two books in this series -- The Amazon Legion and The Lotus Eaters), the U.N. has become little better than a worldwide European feudal-type society, with a handful of elites (who, by the way, benefit from anagathic treatments which have extended their lifespans; at least one of the main U.N. characters is described as being 200 years old) who lord it over the vast majority of Earth's inhabitants -- who themselves are little more than feudal serfs. Where Williamson's stories are concerned, the U.N. is a bureaucratic tyranny which, in many ways has outdone the old Soviet Union where oppressing its citizens are concerned. Citizens are implanted with chips that allow the gov- ernment to keep track of them and where they go, government officials -- both local and planetary -- are for the most part corrupt, and the economy is in a shambles. In spite of this, the U.N. insists upon trying to impose its "enlightened" (my quotation marks here) way of life upon other colony worlds whether they want it or not -- and they aren't above pulling manipulative and underhanded stunts in order to pull it off. They also have no compunction about trying to have an inconvenient colonial politician (inconvenient to their way of thinking, that is) assassinated, if it lets them get their way where im- posing their way of life on an off-world colony is concerned. Williamson actually has two series which are set in the same universe; the first is the Grainne/Freehold series (which consists of Freehold, The Weapon -- which are concurrent stories, in that events which take place in one book are referred to in the other -- Rogue, and Contact with Chaos, the latter of which takes place approximately 20 years after the events in the first three books), and the Ripple Creek series, which is about the adventures of a pri- vate security company (not unlike the private contractors which have been operating in the Middle East in recent years). The first book in the series is Better to beg Forgiveness; the second, Do Unto Others, is due out some- time this year. The only other books that I've read lately that are in this vein are The Apoc- alypse Troll, and The Excalibur Alternative (the latter being a good example of why it's a Supremely Bad Idea for aliens to snatch medieval human sol- diers -- hell, human soldiers from any time period -- from Earth to serve as their janissaries; it's the sort of thing that tends to turn and bite the offend- ing party on the a$$). Major Tom 2009