Markdoc

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? I've seen it. For me the "twist" was pretty obvious from about halfway in. I agree: totaly clichéd. Pity, because otherwise it was pretty well done. cheers, Mark

Re: Complex and unnecessary The simplest approach - and the one I use - is that "an object" is the smallest unit that can function independantly. For living organisms, that's the organism itself. Exceed the BOD score and it ceases to function properly. Double its BOD and it ceases to function at all. That's true whether it's a mouse or a 50 ft woman. All that's different is DEF and BOD scores. For small vehicles like a car or even a tank, that's also a unit. Blow up the engine or even a bit of the inside, and it's pretty much done. However for larger objects - a building or a battleship, for example - that's not the case. Blow up a main turret on a battleship and the ship continues to function. Blow up the bridge, and you may have degraded command but the ship will continue to function. If you blow up the powerplant, most of the ship will stop functioning but it won't sink and much of the lighter armament will still function. To make it sink, you need to make a biggish hole through numerous bulkheads - each of which is an independant entity (flooding one compartment won't necessarily have any effect on adjacent ones). Same applies for a building. So as for the earth, each hex of dirt/stone is an independant entity (since destroying one hex has no real effect on the hex next door), with 13 BOD and 3-7 DEF). Call it 5 on average, and to destroy the earth would require 156,231,452,533,992,140,353 attacks doing an average of 31 BOD (based on the numberof hexes referred to above). You could get by with a somewhat larger number of attacks doing 6 BOD, but I suspect the LTE or old age is going to catch up with you before then: assuming SPD 6 (and nobody doing any repair, like shovelling dirt back into the holes), you'd be finished in only 9,908,133,722,349 years: call it ten trillion years, to be fair. I think I can live with that. cheers, Mark

Re: We Loves Us Some Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs The problem I have with the standard races is that too often, they become stereotypes. Even if the GM tries to tweak the races, it's hard to fight against the vast mass of counter-propaganda from mainstream sources. Runequest suffered from this in an extreme. They had dwarves - well, sort of dwarves, actually they are called Mostali and served the world engine, etc. But in real life, nine times out of ten (or more), they were just dwarves. If I had a bolg for every Mostali who acted exactly like he'd staggered straight out of a Warhammer campaign, I'd be a rich troll. There's nothing really wrong with that - our current D20 game has 2/3rds non-humans in the party, and I'm having fun, but in that case the nonhumans are an integral part of the background, and the sorce of the stereotype. So as a GM, I don't really want to try and fight the players' preconceptions: if I were to use elves, dwarve, orcs, etc, I'd use 'em straight up. cheers, Mark

Re: Genetic Engineering?

Re: We Loves Us Some Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs I wouldn't be disappointed by playing in a game without Elves/Dwarves/Gnomes, etc any more than I'd be disappointed by playing agame with them in. As far as variation and novelty go, though, they add about as much as saying the game has swords and castles. cheers, Mark

Re: Genetic Engineering? I'd suggest vaccination. When it was first introduced it was not only denounced as immoral, but in sevral places there were riots. Even though it's well accepted today, you still have fringers who claim it causes all sorts of things (back in the day, it was claimed it would cause people to give birth to animals) and false claims can still cause riots in some undeveloped areas. cheers, Mark

Re: Mac compatible? I haven't heard anything about supported OS's so far. City of Heroes was mac friendly, City of Villians wasn't, IIRC. Still, options are improving. You can always install Bootcamp and Xp if you have to, and Cider is doing a pretty cool job of bringing windows games to the mac - I've been playing a functional beta of Dawn of War, Dark Crusade on my mac laptop for the last month, without windows installed and it performs flawlessly (if you ignore the fact that the quit button still says "quit to windows" ) cheers, Mark

Re: New Mechanic: STR Rules For Handling Lift I've used a simple rule for lifting (also breaking things) - you simply add the capacity of the STR, not the actual numbers. So if STR 10 Normal tries to help Captain Humongous (60 STR) to lift a tank, his extra 100 kg of lifting capacity is essentially pointless. If, on the other hand, 2 x 10 STR guys (lifting capacity 100 kg each) help a 20 STR (400 kg) guy lift something, their total lifting capacity is 600 kg - which (when it comes to them helping him break or move something) is equivalent to about 23 STR. Characters can choose (when it comes to breaking things) to work out if it's more effective all tugging on it individually (2x 10 STR attacks, 1 x 20 STR, for example) or all trying to coordinate and applying one 23 STR attack. This only applies if they can all feasibly apply their STR on the target at once, of course, and it just lies there passively letting them all work on it. It never applies to a resisting target which must be attacked normally. cheers, Mark

Re: Peasent Campaign My plot was fairly simple: the three brothers' family owned some good riverside pasture. One of the local wealthy men wanted it, so he simply moved his flocks and shepherds onto it. The brother's father sent them to chase the shepherds and flocks off his land - which they did. The rich guy sent his servants down to chase them away and there was a big fistfight. A shepherd got hit in the head with a stone - and died. There was big trial with much politics and in the end, although the villagers generally thought the three brothers had the right of it*, enough bribes were accepted that they were exiled. They spent the next year trying to survive in the wilderness, and after many trials in which two of the brothers die, the survivor returns home, now a hardened warrior - to find that his dad has been murdered and the rich guy has appropriated their land anyway. He swears vengeance, finds the murderer and kills him and then late one snowy night goes to the rich guy's house, sets fire to it and kills as many people as he can while they are trying to escape, before skipping town. That story arc kept us running for about 6 months of weekly play and the surviving brother went on to play in the game for another two years real time (about 10 years game time) before settling down to an affluent semi-retirement in a far-off land as an armorer and teacher of the fighting arts. cheers, Mark *I still fondly recall the speech in his own defence by the brother accused of killing the shepherd: "Eet is maa contention thet thet man 'ad a theen skooll an' as sooch 'ad no business being ootside at all, mooch less indulgin' in fisticoofs"

Re: Can Characters get to powerful for some Genres/Settings? This sounds like the PCs have grown beyond the limits of the original game setting. It happens. When you reach that point you have two choices. 1) retire the characters 2) retire or retool the game setting You can retool the setting without scrapping it. If you have powerful PCs who have clear goals, then the game should (IMO) naturally swing towards those goals, rather than the PCs reacting to what the world throws at them. Retire challenges that no longer challenge. Replace them with challenges that *do* challenge. That is going to be problem if some players want to quietly replace the Duke of Aarble with a doppelganger and take his place of influence at court and the others want to go down into the sewers and bash goblins, but it should be possible to accommodate both bashers and plotters. cheers, Mark

Re: Peasent Campaign Yeah, I've GM'ed a game where the players started as peasants - three peasant brothers, in fact. Their first "adventure" was guarding their sheep It was a huge hoot and one of the most famous story arcs I ran among our gaming circle. As GM, I had a lot of fun - and one of the players (Sir O'Feelya) is on the boards. There wasn't any magic initially, though: the three brothers were simple sword-swingers. cheers, Mark

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I think the idea was supposed to be that the future setting was somewhat oppressive - which is why even rational people were prepared to drop through a timegate into the distant past. Given your comment, I think you might be surprised by the plot though: a lot of characters (even major ones) don't make it through the series. Unlike a SoIaF, it's not that hard to work out who's likely to come out on top at the end, but the path to getting there gave me a few surprises, which is a rare pleasure in a fantasy series these days. cheers, Mark

Re: Radical Adjustment These ideas have merit. I don't have a big problem with power defence in game, but as a concept, it's kind of slippery. cheers, Mark

Re: And off we go! Actually, yes. Gen has some unluck that came up. Well spotted! Cheers, Mark

Re: And off we go! The players give Thana water and food and after he devours them, ply him with questions. He reacts badly to be being called a pirate and subjects the players to a long tirade in which he explains that the men of the Teeth are privateers, led by the true lords of Anaria (of whom he is, naturally, one) who have lost their lands to the invading Samadrians and now prey on their ships as legitimate targets of war. He stamps up and down the deck, waving his hands as he explains that they never attack neutral shipping – unless bound for Samadrian ports, or carrying Samadrian goods. Samadrians are the enemy! When Gen points out that they are hunting murderous Samadrian sorcerors, Captain Thana readily accepts this, pointing out that according to his great grandgrather – who was there - black sorcery played a large role in the fall of Anaria, with demons leading the Samadrian assault. Having calmed down a bit, he explains that his first mate rebelled against him over attacking a ship flying a neutral flag and got half the crew to follow but didn’t dare kill him, lest it start a fight, instead setting him adrift. He suspects they will return to Pirate Cove – their base – and discharge the rest of the crew, taking on new men. Thana then says he will lead them to Pirate Cove – but only if they take the blood oath never to reveal its location. He tells the PCs that the blood oath has protected the secret base for generations. There is a long debate over whether to trust him. Lamoniak tells the others that Thana seems sincere, but gets the feeling that he is holding something back. In the end, they agree to take the oath. Thana takes a knife and makes a small cut in his palm (the players note his palm is seamed with little scars) and then makes a similar cut in each of their palms, so that when they shake hands, blood is smeared. When they release the handshake, the blood – instead of being smeared – has formed strange runes and markings on their palms, which even as they watch seem to sink into the skin. Thana, sitting himself down on the stair to the aft castle seems much more at ease and he explains that the blood oath will cause their blood to run backwards and kill them if they betray the secrets he is about to tell them, by word, or by deed. He then gives the PCs a heading to steer and tells them that Pirate Cove is on an island hidden by powerful illusions and charms. He intends to take his ship back there, so that everybody can see and there will be no doubt about his ownership. The problem will be getting into position to strike and he is overjoyed to find that the party has a priest of the Woman of Tides with them, who can raise fogs. Over the next hour, Thana and the PCs plot. Pirate cove is actually hidden deep inside the island and the entrance guarded by towers with a chain between them. Thana says it was probably once a big cave carved out by water from a spring, but over the eons, the cave collapsed, leaving a big hole. Over time, much rock has been carved out to make homes in the stone and for building. The island is thus almost hollow – simply a ring of cliffs, and the pirate town is build in the hollow, out of sight of the sea, even if the illusions are somehow pierced. The rest of the coast of the island is comprised of sheer cliffs. The plan they devise is to take their ship to Pirate Cove from the rear under cover of fog. Dalarna can control the sea to keep it flat enough to approach the cliffs closely. Bellona can then use her magical gift to scale the cliffs and attach a rope so that the others can follow. Once on the island, they will infiltrate the town, make contact with Thana’s friends to see what is going on (in particular what his former first mate’s plans are) and then strike. The planning session concluded Thana rises, stretches and vanishes below decks where the PCs later find him plundering the late Captain Balar’s sea chest for clothes to replace his own salt-stiff and tattered clothes. After an argument, he is ejected from the captain’s cabin and goes sulkily off to sleep in a hammock in the bow. Two days later, the PC’s ship approaches Pirate Cove. They anchor nearby until just before dawn and then approach under cover of darkness and Dalarna’s magical fog. As planned he guides the ship in, and calming the sea, they are able to come alongside the cliffs. Bellona scales the cliff with her magical gift and soon finds a scrubby tree, with roots sunk deep in a crack in the rock, to attack it to. The PCs swarm up the rope, though there is a tense moment as Khatz slips and almost falls. Khelsen has trouble with the rope, and at last, Dalaran summons a whirlwind which sweeps him off the deck and drops him at the top of the cliff. Lamoniak and the remaining sailors then sail away, before the fog begins to disperse, with the plan of returning in 24 hours: the others will signal him with fire arrows – one if there’s trouble, three, if it is safe to enter. The players then slink over the rocky terrain and secrete themselves on the edge of the inner cliff where they can look down into Pirate Cove. The sight is amazing: just below where they are crouching is a vast circular chasm. One half is filled with crystal clear blue water where dozens of ships large and small are moored or pulled up on the sandy beach. The other half is filled with a veritable city made up partly of buildings made of the same reddish orange stone that they are crouching on, and partly of parts of old ships, climbing in ramshackle disorder up the sides of the cliff. In the centre of the bay is a large galleass, with a glittering figurehead that Thana points out as his ship, the Golden Prow. It has however some signs of damage. A fight? A storm? The PCs can’t tell. There is a flight of steps down that gives access to the town below, but Thana warns they are covered by a watchtower. Aquila uses his face shifting magical gift to approximate a pirate’s face according to Thana’s instructions and then, as two of the party cover the watchtower with bows from cover Aquila goes up and pretends to be the relief for the watch. There’s a moment of tension as the man seems a bit suspicious, but in the end, he opens the door and goes down the steps, which run through a passage cut into the rock. Once he’s out of sight the party follow and Thana quickly leads them to a friend’s house in the upper part of the town, through twisty, narrow alleys. The friend is initially suspicious but is soon convinced that it really is Thana, and fills him in on what has happened. The Golden Prow limped into port two days ago: it attacked a galleass heading south but was repulsed by strong sorcery and lost its mast and had to struggle home under oars. Though the other ship escaped, the pirates managed to set its sails on fire with fire arrows so it is also probably partially incapacitated. The rebellious ex-mate has called a pirate council and apparently plans to claim Thana’s ship – and the council is today! The PCs and Thana quickly plan to thwart this plan – if Thana can speak before the council, there’s no way she can do so. But first he has to get to the council chambers – the elaborate stern castle of a huge galleass set partway up a cliff, and which can be approached only via a rope bridge. The party quickly heads to Thana’s house so he can (as he says) get better weapons and clothes. The council will assemble at the midday bell, so they have a couple of hours, to eat, drink, plan and rest. Thana’s house – made out of an overturned cog – has been broken into and trashed. Thana suggests the rebels were looking for his “magic orb”, which he explains is a magical navigation aid. Fortunately, they haven’t found it – Thana retrieves it and a couple of fine looking blades from a hiding place in his rooms. Spying out the land from a window in Thana’s house, they can see a group of men lounging about by the rope bridge. Thana identifies them as part of the rebel crew – probably there to prevent anyone else from reaching the council chamber. The PCs work out the following plan. Thana and Khelsen will go to the cliffs above the council chambers: with Khelsen holding the rope, Thana can swing down, smash through the windows and make a dramatic entrance! Meanwhile, the other PCs will rush to the rope bridge and prevent anyone else from entering until he has time to make his pitch. Everyone agree this is a fine plan. As noon is approaching the party comes out of Thana’s house and as they turn the first corner, meet a large group coming in the opposite direction, led by a woman with fiery red hair. There’s a moment pause as the woman gasps “Thana!” and Thana snarls “Adriana, damn it!” Then blades are drawn and Thana shouts “Plan B! Run for the council chambers bridge and we’ll cut our way through!”

Re: I DISBELIEVE YOUR REALITY! OR The couch is really there!

Re: How do you visualize combat? Not really - I posted to the Hero boards that day - when the shooting moved closer I went into my house and as I commented at the time, it always sounds more exciting than it actually is. Edit: it might be a deal more exciting if they were actually shooting at ME, but they weren't. We were on a hillside above and slightly to the side of the motorway interchange where this whole thing happened: our chance of taking a random richochet were pretty close to nil. It wasn't until the crowd spilled off the road that the odds of a misdirected bullet went up and we got the heck out of there.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... As for reading, The complete Kull by RE Howard. Good, classic stuff. And Soldier of Sidon by Gene Wolfe. Good, wierd, distinctively non-classic stuff. cheers, Mark

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Me either. Tried two of his books, was meh'ed out and haven't bothered since. cheers, Mark

Re: I DISBELIEVE YOUR REALITY! OR The couch is really there!

Re: Colonial Gothic?

Re: Hell's Heroes

Re: How do you visualize combat?

Re: I DISBELIEVE YOUR REALITY! OR The couch is really there!

Re: And off we go!