Major Tom 2009

Re: Cosmic Centurions Allies of the Cosmic Centurions The Star Centurions (Update) Recently, due to increased activity on the part of Lord Dark Matter's forces, the Star Centurions felt the need to recruit new members. To this end, they have been discreetly traveling to other worlds to search for those with the potential to become Star Centurions, in much the same way as Mentor-Prime had done with them. Thus far, two such individuals have been found, and have recently been seen in the field alongside the original members. Like their five predecessors, these new members possess the same powers as their team- mates -- the ability to fly through both normal space and hyperspace, the power to fire bolts of energy from their hands, superhumanoid strength, an extrasensory perception which enables them to know precisely where they are in space, and -- as a result of the energy which gives them their powers -- are immune to disease, nuclear/biological/chemical agents, and no longer age. They are also able to survive the rigors of space without the need for bulky life- support gear, and possess unique powers which their teammates don't. The first of these new members is Antares, a native of the planet Betalainia. Betalainians are a humanoid race similar to Earth humans, but are taller than Earth humans (7' is the average height for most of them, particularly the males of the species), and have bluish-black hair and red skin. Upon recieving his powers, Antares discovered that his unique power was the ability to grow to tremendous size (over 70 feet in height), with a corresponding increase in his strength and resistance to energy and kinetic damage. At his normal level of strength, he is able to lift over 60 tons. He is also surprisingly agile considering his size, and is often able to take his opponents by surprise -- especially since most of them aren't expecting a 7-foot-tall, 560-pound man to move very quickly. In terms of personality, Antares is a very calm and collected person, and projects an image of dignity which is surprising in someone of his age (he is the equivalent of 24 Earth years old), and has the ability to deal with others in a diplomatic and polite manner (being the son of Betalainia's Prime Minister has allowed him to learn how to do such things), and has a fine understanding of proper etiquette. About the only times that his veneer of dignity slips is when an attractive member of the opposite sex shows an interest in him -- at which times, he's hard-pressed to 'keep his cool' and not do something that would be embarassing for him. His real name is Anthar Areson. The second of their new members is Starfalcon, a member of the Avarii, a race of winged humanoids. Like Earth birds, the Avarii are hollow-boned, which makes them lighter than Earth people of similar sizes and builds; there is also as much variation in skin coloration among the Avarii as there is in Earth's people. Except for their wings, the Avarii could almost be taken for Earth humans. They are very well-adapted for winged flight at high speeds, having eyes which are better able to resist the effects of wind blowing against them, and a respiratory system which enables them to breathe even at high speeds. Their visual acuity is superior to that of an Earth human's; they are able to see objects at distances three times greater than what Earth humans can. They are also able to navigate by means of an ability to sense their planet's magnetic field; they can do this on other worlds as well, but only after they've had time to acclimate themselves to the magnetic fields of those worlds. Starfalcon's unique power is the ability to channel her energies into her wings, making them stronger than the most advanced super-alloys in existence, and giving them extraordinary sharpness as well. In space combat, she uses this power to make high-speed attacks against enemy starships, using her wings to slice through their hulls as she flies past them. She tends to fly down the length of her target in order to inflict the greatest amount of damage possible; the usual result of such an attack is a chain reaction of explosive decompressions that eventually destroys the target. As she makes her attack runs at near-light velocity, it's very difficult -- if not outright impossible -- to keep her from making a successful attack. Personality-wise, she's pretty much the exact polar opposite of Antares; where he's a very serious person, she tends to be very fun-loving -- as well as being something of a flirt (some of which she does with an enemy, but only for the purpose of throwing him off-balance in a fight). She takes particular pleasure in flirting with Antares -- but never in public where it would embarass him; not simply because they're teammates, but because she genuinely likes him as a person. Starfalcon stands 5'11" in height, and weighs 80 lbs. She has black hair that comes down to her shoulders, and has blue eyes. Her wings are a golden- white in color. Her real name is Mara Swiftwind. Major Tom 2009

Re: The SHADOW Company I'm guessing from the appearances and names of these folks that they're an international superhuman black-ops team? Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style heroMachine Bigbywolfe: I never actually read Dracula; the hairstyle that I used for this pic came from a memory of his entry in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Uni- verse (the comic-book format version, not the three-ring binder version). As for his facial hair, I more or less gave him a moustache like the one that's in some of the paintings of Vlad Tepes (the historical Dracula) as well as a Van Dyke-type beard; it seemed like a good choice at the time. Thanks for the rep, though. Major Tom 2009

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Oooooo...methinks I sense the presence of blackmail material. Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine "There's something out there waiting for us -- and it ain't no man... We're all gonna die." [ATTACH=CONFIG]39086[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine This is one of the many servitor creatures that do the bidding of Pendax, the Black Warlock -- a Shadow Minion. [ATTACH=CONFIG]39085[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Alternate realities aside from Multifaria? If you're looking for alternate-Earth ideas, you could also take a look at the 3rd Ed. GURPS worldbooks Alternate Earths and Alternate Earths 2, as well as the 4th Ed. hardcover Infinite Worlds. These have a good-sized number of alternate Earths in them. The first book covers the worlds of Dixie (Confederate World), Reich-5 (Nazi World), Roma Aeterna (Rome World), Shikaku-Mon (Japanese/Cyberpunk World), and Ezcalli (Aztec World); the second covers Cornwallis (British World), Ming-3 (Chinese World), Midgard (Viking World), Caliph (Futuristic Arabic World), Aeolus (Monarchial European World), and the Earth of Centrum, the bad guys in the cross- time conflict between Homeline (basically, a near-future Earth with transtemporal technology) and Centrum (also a near-future Earth with the same technology, but which is trying to bring other alternate timelines into its sphere of influence). GURPS Time Travel (3rd Edition) also mentions worlds like the United States of Liz- ardia (Dinosaur World) and Pogo (an Earth where animals achieved sapience), as well as mentioning Earths where famous characters from our literature -- Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur, and Robin Hood, for example -- are quite real. Infinite Worlds expands on the earlier books, and adds new details (for example, one of the Nazi parallel-Earths has a transtemporal unit which is trying to expand its power into other timelines). Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Thanks; it's difficult, to say the least, to recreate character designs from one version of Fabrica to another. You'd think that the creator of the application would have at least kept things the same from version to version. BTW, were you happy with the CC characters that were posted earlier? Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine I forget who did the original Animated/Timm-style pic for this one, but here's my take on Star Reaver (at least as close as I could get to him with F2010) [ATTACH=CONFIG]39073[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Remember when I posted Conan the Barbarian's pic on this thread? Well, in the interests of fair play, here's a pic of everybody's favorite Hyborean Age hell- raiser, Red Sonja: [ATTACH=CONFIG]39072[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine I've posted these three to the Cosmic Centurions thread already, but I figured that I could put them here as well. From left to right, they are the Steel Centurion, the Diamond Centurion, and the Dragon Centurion. [ATTACH=CONFIG]39071[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]39070[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]39069[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine You'll be lucky if someone doesn't do a rimshot off your noggin after a crack like that. Major Tom 2009

Re: Cosmic Centurions The bloody machine did it to me again; here's the pic of the Steel Centurion that was supposed to be in the above post. [ATTACH=CONFIG]39068[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Cosmic Centurions Ferros T'n'sten is a member of a humanoid species whose members are composed of, for lack of a better term, living metal. Although they possess great strength as a result of their physical makeup, Ferros' people aren't particularly violent or war- like; rather, they are contemplative and pacifistic by nature, choosing to keep to themselves. Ferros, on the other hand, is very inquisitive and eager to learn new things and to see new places -- and it is those qualities which brought him to the attention of the Cosmic Centurions. At the time of the Battle of Elysia, Ferros was studying at one of the planet's many universities when the invasion fleet sent by Lord Dark Matter arrived in the system. Although the planetary defenses were able to stop most of the enemy ships from landing troops on the planet, one transport did make it through to deploy its troops. The mission of the troops was to advance on the main government building for the purpose of seizing the members of the Science Council, and their path took them straight toward the university where Ferros was in attendance. When the enemy entered the grounds of the university, they immediately began shooting at any civilian in their path, including Ferros. Unlike many of his classmates, however, Ferros was impervious to the Nth Legion's fire; his metallic form provided perfect protection from their weapons, and his great strength made it possible for him to fight them effectively. He managed to delay their advance long enough for units of the planetary defense force to arrive at the scene, and continued to fight the Legionnaires even after their arrival. Near the end of the fight, word came over one of the PDF's communicators that the enemy fleet had turned and was retreating from Elysia (by this time, the Star Centurions had arrived and had aided in the defeat of the invasion fleet). Upon hearing that, the Legionnaires stopped fighting and, as one, self-destructed somehow, leaving the victors without any prisoners. One Earth hour later, a small contingent of Cosmic Centurions arrived at Elysia to assist with the cleanup operations, and to make certain that Lord Dark Matter's forces didn't try to attack again while the planet's defenders were otherwise occu- pied. While they were there, several of the Elysian troops who had been involved in the fight against the Nth Legionnaires told them about Ferros' one-man stand against them at the university campus, and how that stand kept the Science Coun- cil from becoming prisoners of Lord Dark Matter. As they listened to the various accounts of Ferros' heroism, the Cosmic Centurions realized that he was a perfect choice to become one of them. Taking him aside, the Cosmic Centurions spoke to Ferros of their organization, and of how it was their mission to defend the innocent and to battle evil throughout the galaxy. They also told him of their responsibility to find sentient beings who were worthy to become part of their organization, and told him that he was just such a being -- and they wanted him to become one of them, a Cosmic Centurion. Ferros was surprised, to say the least -- he didn't think he was special in the way that the Cosmic Centurions seemed to think he was; he'd only been trying to protect his friends from the invaders (modesty was, and still is, one of his strong points). The Cosmic Centurions told him that he was indeed the very kind of being that they sought to become part of their organization, and that they would be honored if he would join them. Realizing that they were indeed serious, Ferros accepted their invitation. And so it was that on that day, Ferros T'n'sten became the Cosmic Cen- turion known as the Steel Centurion. [ATTACH=CONFIG]39067[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Cosmic Centurions One of the newest recruits to the Cosmic Centurions is Viridia, the youngest cousin of the Star Centurion known as Draco. When space pirates on a slave raid attempt- ed to kidnap the children of one of her homeworld's schools, she managed to hold them off until help could arrive in spite of being outnumbered and unarmed. When a group of Cosmic Centurions arrived in response to the desperate call for help, they found several of the pirates lying on the ground in various states of severe injury, while the rest were still trying to get to the children. With the arrival of the Cosmic Centurions on the scene, the pirates were quickly defeated and taken into custody. Impressed by the courage that she'd shown in fighting the pirates, and believing that she possessed the necessary qualities to become one of them, the Cosmic Centurions invited her to join their ranks. Although she was surprised by their invitation, Viridia accepted it, and became the Dragon Centurion. [ATTACH=CONFIG]39066[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Oooooh...you don't say? Yet more grist for the mill... (You really enjoy feeding other people's inner rat b******, don't you?) Major Tom 2009

Re: Qliphothic Creatures That was a joke. I try to save snark for the important and annoying things. Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Evil, pure and simple, from the Eighth Dimension -- oh, wait, that's the wrong place. My bad (). Major Tom 2009

Re: Qliphothic Creatures Do Republicans count for the purposes of this topic? Major Tom 2009

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Bad Greenwade! Bad! Into the Penalty Kennel with you! Major Tom 2009

Re: Cosmic Centurions Here are the pics that were supposed to be in the above post; for some reason, I got an 'Invalid attachment' notice from the computer. [ATTACH=CONFIG]39062[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]39063[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Cosmic Centurions Enemies of the Cosmic Centurions Lady Demonica (Commander of the Demonscourge pirate armada, Consort of Lord Dark Matter): Not all threats to the peace and freedom of the galaxy come from Lord Dark Matter. There are also planet-bound tyrants with dreams of empire, as well as numerous bands of space pirates to make life dangerous for the everyday citizens of the gal- axy. Of the latter, the most dangerous is the pirate band known as the Demon- scourge Armada, led by a woman who is known only as Lady Demonica. A member of the same species as Z'a'dahn the Inquisitor, Demonica inherited her fleet from her father -- Captain Demonicus -- when he was offered command of one of Lord Dark Matter's fleets. Demonica commanded her fleet with great skill, earning the respect and trust of the crews under her command, and -- in a rare act of humanitarianism -- rescued almost the entire population of the reptilian warrior species known as the G'hlan when their world suffered an ecological cat- astrophe which rendered it incapable of supporting life. Swearing eternal loyalty to Lady Demonica, the G'hlan now live on a new world which she found for them, and an entire Legion's worth of them -- a little over six thousand of them -- serve as her elite shock troopers; a small squad of thirteen of their finest warriors act as her personal bodyguard, both on her flagship and off of it. For many years, Demonica successfully plied her trade throughout the galaxy, plundering well-laden merchant ships and engaging in the occasional slave raid, until one day when an old friend of her father's came with the news that no child -- son or daughter -- ever wants to hear: Commodore Demonicus was dead, killed during an attempt to invade the planet Elysia. Demonica learned from her father's friend that he had been killed when he attempted to capture one of the super-powered beings who had interfered with the invasion attempt at the last moment, forcing the retreat from the planet. His flagship was destroy- ed when one of the teammates of the superbeing he was attempting to capture came to her aid, along with what looked like a robotic weapon of some sort; they managed to break free, and, using an unimaginably powerful attack, broke through the defenses of her father's ship, destroying it with all hands. She learned that the beings who had stopped the invasion of Elysia were known as the Star Centurions (what connection to the Cosmic Centurions that they had, or didn't have, her father's friend couldn't say), and that the "robotic weapon" was actually a being of living "anti-energy" known as the Positronic Man -- but what she learned about who was directly responsible for her father's death filled her with a deep and burning hatred. Lady Demonica swore a blood oath that day: that she would never rest until Powerstar and Starstorm were destroyed -- but not be- fore she had made them suffer. Demonica then had her father's friend intercede on her behalf to request an audi- ence with Lord Dark Matter, and to request permission for her fleet to enter his domain. Within days, both of her requests had been granted, and Lady Demonica -- and the Demonscourge Armada -- found themselves in the heart of Lord Dark Matter's territory. Finally meeting with the dreaded conqueror, she was asked by Dark Matter why she wished to meet with him. Demonica told him that, not only did she want to continue her father's work, but she also wanted to destroy those responsible for his death -- and the best way for her to accomplish those goals was to serve him, but as an independent force, not as a member of his military. Lord Dark Matter was, to put it mildly, very impressed with Lady Demonica and her willingness to risk much in her pursuit of personal vengeance; he was also, for the first time in his existence, entranced by the beauty of a woman, and made no secret of those facts to her. He told her that he would accept her offer, but he also asked her if she would consider becoming his consort. Demonica was astonished, to say the least -- not because she thought that his question was out- rageous, but because she had never before met anyone who desired her, and thought her beautiful as well. Even more astonishing to her was the fact that his offer actually appealed to her -- as the consort of the man who sought to conquer the galaxy, she would have power beyond anything that most people could imag- ine. With all that in mind, Demonica smiled and gladly accepted his invitation to become the consort of Lord Dark Matter. For the next three months after their meeting, Dark Matter and Demonica spent their time getting to know one another; during that time, both her people and those of Dark Matter made every effort to gather as much information on the Positronic Man and the Star Centurions -- particularly Powerstar and Starstorm -- as they could before Lady Demonica commenced her campaign of vengeance. They were unable to discover their true identities, but they did discover one very significant fact: in spite of looking like an Elysian male, Powerstar was not a nat- ive of that world, but came from elsewhere in the galaxy; where from, they didn't know, but they would continue to search for the answer until they did. For the time being, however, Lady Demonica had as much information as she need- ed to begin her quest for vengeance...and she was more than ready to begin. Appearance: Lady Demonica has those features which are common to her species: black hair, reddish-colored skin, pupiless yellow eyes which seem to glow, and a small pair of horns which protrude from her forehead. She stands 5'10" in height, and weighs 145 lbs. When in the field or commanding from the bridge of her star- ship, she wears a suit of lightweight, yet strong body armor in red and purple with gold trim. A golden horned-skull emblem decorates the belt of the armor, and she wears a yellow-lined purple cape with an emerald clasp. Personality: Even before her father's death, Demonica was an intense and driven woman, committed to achieving any goal which she set for herself. With the death of her father, she has become even more intense and driven, but with only one goal in mind: the destruction of Powerstar and Starstorm (and, to a lesser extent, the Positronic Man as well) -- but not before she's made them suffer. The only thing in her life at this time which gives her any peace is her relationship with Lord Dark Matter, who shares her wish to see their enemies destroyed. Powers: Lady Demonica has no super-powers to speak of; however, her species is, as a whole, slightly stronger than Earth humans (Demonica has a STR of 20). Skills: As a leader of a space pirate armada, Demonica is well-versed in the arts of starship command and battle strategy; she is also a master of both modern and archaic weaponry, which both she and those under her command make use of in their piratical activities. In addition, she also commands the loyalty of the G'hlan Warriors who serve in her fleet -- which, in itself, says a great deal about her pers- onal abilities as a captain, considering that the G'hlan are unremittingly hostile to all other beings (the only beings other than Demonica that the G'hlan respect at all are the other members of the Demonscourge Armada). Of the two pics below, the first is of one of Demonica's G'hlan Warrior bodyguards, complete with body armor, the standard sword wielded by all of them, modern load-bearing gear, and a heavy plasma rifle. The second is of Demonica herself, wearing her "business" attire. [ATTACH=CONFIG]39057[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]39056[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Cosmic Centurions Enemies of the Cosmic Centurions (Update) Techamachus Recently, Lord Dark Matter's cyborg scientist, Techamachus, created two additional lower-body chassis. He did so because there were occasions where he was assigned to projects on worlds whose environmental conditions were less than conducive to anti-grav flight (namely, high winds). Both chassis were built with a form reminis- cent of a Terran spider, with eight legs for increased stability, but with different tasks in mind. The first chassis was designed primarily to enable him to handle hazardous mat- erials at a distance, and has eight extendable waldo-like arms in a detachable backpack unit. The tips of the waldo "fingers" have built-in tractor beam project- ors, allowing Techamachus to handle objects that would be dangerous to physic- ally touch. The twin over-the-shoulder missile pods that he normally uses with his anti-grav module are also present in this design as well. The second chassis was designed as a combat unit, and is appropiately armed for the task. A four-shot missile pod sits over his right shoulder, and each missile can separate into three independently-targeted mini-missiles, enabling him to attack up to three targets with each missile. A gatling laser cannon sits over his left shoul- der, and is powerful enough to seriously damage (or even destroy) an armored fighting vehicle. The gatling laser can also provide antiaircraft defense (given how Techamachus came to be a cyborg, such a capability is entirely understandable). The most powerful of the chassis' built-in weapons, however, is the particle-beam cannon built into the "tail" of the chassis. Operating from its own independent energy cell, the particle-beam has a limited number of shots, but since the unit wasn't designed for prolonged combat, this is less of a handicap than it would be otherwise. Techamachus supplements the firepower of the Heavy Combat Chassis with a pair of hand-held heavy plasma rifles (with the strength that his cyborg upper body provides him, he is able to use and fire both weapons one-handed with great accuracy and stability). An advanced, attachable targeting module that is connected to the weapons systems fits over his right eye; any target he sees is instantly fed into the fire-control system -- all he has to do is think of the weapon he wants to use, and it immediately fires upon the target. For defensive purposes, a more powerful version of the shield generator that his anti-grav module is equipped with has been installed in both chassis, and the chassis themselves are armor-plated. Of the pics shown below, the first is of the Heavy Combat Chassis, while the second is of the "hazmat" chassis. [ATTACH=CONFIG]39055[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]39054[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Hypothetically and unofficially, what would you like to see in a Mecha Hero book? It's been a while since I last checked out this thread, so I don't know if the subject has ever come up, but how about suggestions for cross-genre campaigns (mecha and supers campaigns, or even mecha sci-fi and non-mecha sci-fi, for example)? The idea for this question came from one of the stories that's part of the Battlestar Galactica: 2003 and Robotech/Macross crossover fiction section at Fanfiction.net's website. There's a scene in it where a dozen or so Vipers are chasing a single Veri- tech fighter (there was a previous engagement between Colonial forces and Earth- based forces at a colony world where Vipers went up against Veritechs, but the Veritechs fought only in Jet mode -- which meant that the Colonials didn't have a clue in hell about what the Veritechs were really capable of doing []), and the Veritech promptly goes into Gerwalk mode, fires a missile spread that kills half the Vipers chasing him, then switches to Soldier mode and finishes the rest of them with his gunpod. Needless to say, the other Colonial pilots witnessing the transform- ation immediately freak out ("Oh my gods, Cylons, they're turning into Cylons..."). That scene was just Full Of Win. Major Tom 2009