Monday, June 18, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
V&V Vednesday: Atlanteans
(unless I've miscounted along the way, this is my 50th character write-up entry on this blog for the Villains & Vigilantes RPG)
The aquatic race known colloquially as the Atlanteans are not native to this dimension, but rather were brought into this reality by the Thanatari as a servitor race during the extra-dimensional invasion that occurred during the summer of 1988, commonly referred to as the Reality War. This was not the first time that the aquatic race had followed their masters the Thanatari through the dimensional rifts, but due to the presence of telepaths among Earth's superhuman defenders, it was the first time the underwater people had actually communicated with the local sentients that the Thanatari wished to conquer. Eventually, that Atlanteans (as the people of Earth called them) rebelled against their masters and sided with the Earthlings, which would turn out to be the moment that would turn the tide (sorry) in the war. After the Thanatari were defeated, the Atlanteans had no way of returning to their original reality. Fortunately, the deep oceans of Earth provided a suitable new habitat for the underwater race, one which (for the most part) did not come into conflict with the surface dwellers of this new world. Using their ability to transform matter (see below), the Atlanteans have since created underwater citites, complete with their own unique form of technology.
All Atlanteans have the following Powers and Weaknesses as a racial template:
Animal (Fish) Powers
+ 4 END, -4 AGL (standard modifiers for the power-set)
Heightened Agility A: +11 (total modifier +7)
Heightened Senses: adapted to see underwater without difficulty, vision extends into the UV range
Heightened Strength A: +11
Speed Bonus (variant): Swimming movement rate is doubled
Water Breathing (type B)
Matter Transformation - takes simple, non-living matter and rearranges it to create a new object (the Atlanteans usually use the detritus accumulated on the ocean floor as the 'stock' for their new creations). A cost of PR=1 can create up to the Atlanteans' CHR score in pounds, with the maximum weight possible for such creations is CHR x (INT + character level) for any individual device/object. PR cost is doubled for complex devices (such as the energy rifles that the Atlanteans favor), and an INT roll on a d20 is also required for such items (because of the Atlanteans' shared telepathic knowledge, most of the race has at least a basic idea of how to re-create even relatively complex items that has been invented in some point in the past). A completely new complex item would require an Inventing roll. Most such items dissipate within an hour, but for triple the normal PR cost such items will be permanent in nature.
Telepathy
Prejudice (the fish-like nature of the Atlanteans give most humans a rather uneasy feeling)
Vulnerability (double damage from fire- and heat-based attacks)
Weight for Atlanteans (both male and female) is determined as per a normal human male.
A 'typical' Atlantean armsman might have the following stats:
It would be up to each individual GM to determine how the Atlanteans would react to either Undertow or the creature known as Grendel.
The aquatic race known colloquially as the Atlanteans are not native to this dimension, but rather were brought into this reality by the Thanatari as a servitor race during the extra-dimensional invasion that occurred during the summer of 1988, commonly referred to as the Reality War. This was not the first time that the aquatic race had followed their masters the Thanatari through the dimensional rifts, but due to the presence of telepaths among Earth's superhuman defenders, it was the first time the underwater people had actually communicated with the local sentients that the Thanatari wished to conquer. Eventually, that Atlanteans (as the people of Earth called them) rebelled against their masters and sided with the Earthlings, which would turn out to be the moment that would turn the tide (sorry) in the war. After the Thanatari were defeated, the Atlanteans had no way of returning to their original reality. Fortunately, the deep oceans of Earth provided a suitable new habitat for the underwater race, one which (for the most part) did not come into conflict with the surface dwellers of this new world. Using their ability to transform matter (see below), the Atlanteans have since created underwater citites, complete with their own unique form of technology.
All Atlanteans have the following Powers and Weaknesses as a racial template:
Animal (Fish) Powers
+ 4 END, -4 AGL (standard modifiers for the power-set)
Heightened Agility A: +11 (total modifier +7)
Heightened Senses: adapted to see underwater without difficulty, vision extends into the UV range
Heightened Strength A: +11
Speed Bonus (variant): Swimming movement rate is doubled
Water Breathing (type B)
Matter Transformation - takes simple, non-living matter and rearranges it to create a new object (the Atlanteans usually use the detritus accumulated on the ocean floor as the 'stock' for their new creations). A cost of PR=1 can create up to the Atlanteans' CHR score in pounds, with the maximum weight possible for such creations is CHR x (INT + character level) for any individual device/object. PR cost is doubled for complex devices (such as the energy rifles that the Atlanteans favor), and an INT roll on a d20 is also required for such items (because of the Atlanteans' shared telepathic knowledge, most of the race has at least a basic idea of how to re-create even relatively complex items that has been invented in some point in the past). A completely new complex item would require an Inventing roll. Most such items dissipate within an hour, but for triple the normal PR cost such items will be permanent in nature.
Telepathy
Prejudice (the fish-like nature of the Atlanteans give most humans a rather uneasy feeling)
Vulnerability (double damage from fire- and heat-based attacks)
Weight for Atlanteans (both male and female) is determined as per a normal human male.
A 'typical' Atlantean armsman might have the following stats:
STR: 22 END: 15 INT: 10 AGL: 18 CHA: 10
Level: 2nd Weight: 175 lbs Basic Hits: 4 Hit Points: 25
Healing Rate: 1.6/day Movement: 55" running, 110" swimming Power: 65
Carrying Capacity: 1,063 lbs HTH Damage: 1d10
Healing Rate: 1.6/day Movement: 55" running, 110" swimming Power: 65
Carrying Capacity: 1,063 lbs HTH Damage: 1d10
Damage Modifier: +2 Accuracy: +3 Detect Hidden: 8% Detect Danger: 12%
Equipment: Dagger (+1 to hit, HTH+1d2 damage), Energy Rifle (+3 to hit, 1d12 damage, can fire underwater but range is halved)
Perhaps one in two-score Atlantean adults will have 1d4 Talents, determined by a d6 roll:
1. Heightened Attack
2. Heightened Defense
3. Heightened Expertise
4. Heightened Mental Prowess (acts similar to Heightened Intelligence A and Heightened Charisma A, bonus may be split between those two attributes as desired)
5. Heightened Physical Prowess (acts similar to Heightened Strength A, Heightened Endurance A and Heightened Agility A, bonus may be split between those three attributes as desired)
6. Willpower
Finally, about one in a thousand Atlanteans will have the Telekinesis power, with the limitation that the telekinesis only affects water. Those blessed with this ability are the heroes (and villains) of the Atlantean people.
Although contact is fairly minimal between Atlanteans and humans, the two races have worked together for the shared mutual benefit (humans who act as liaisons and diplomats between the two races are specifically trained not to react negatively to the aquatic race). The most notable example of this is the respective super-prisons that each side is building, to house difficult prisoners from 'the other side' (i.e. human supervillains are imprisoned in the Atlanteans' underwater prison, while Atlantean criminals are held on land in a human prison, each designed so that the prisoner can live comfortably, but escape would be dangerous and life-threatening due to the respective environments immediately outside the prison walls).
Equipment: Dagger (+1 to hit, HTH+1d2 damage), Energy Rifle (+3 to hit, 1d12 damage, can fire underwater but range is halved)
Perhaps one in two-score Atlantean adults will have 1d4 Talents, determined by a d6 roll:
1. Heightened Attack
2. Heightened Defense
3. Heightened Expertise
4. Heightened Mental Prowess (acts similar to Heightened Intelligence A and Heightened Charisma A, bonus may be split between those two attributes as desired)
5. Heightened Physical Prowess (acts similar to Heightened Strength A, Heightened Endurance A and Heightened Agility A, bonus may be split between those three attributes as desired)
6. Willpower
Finally, about one in a thousand Atlanteans will have the Telekinesis power, with the limitation that the telekinesis only affects water. Those blessed with this ability are the heroes (and villains) of the Atlantean people.
Although contact is fairly minimal between Atlanteans and humans, the two races have worked together for the shared mutual benefit (humans who act as liaisons and diplomats between the two races are specifically trained not to react negatively to the aquatic race). The most notable example of this is the respective super-prisons that each side is building, to house difficult prisoners from 'the other side' (i.e. human supervillains are imprisoned in the Atlanteans' underwater prison, while Atlantean criminals are held on land in a human prison, each designed so that the prisoner can live comfortably, but escape would be dangerous and life-threatening due to the respective environments immediately outside the prison walls).
It would be up to each individual GM to determine how the Atlanteans would react to either Undertow or the creature known as Grendel.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Break out the earphones...
...Rush's first studio album in over five years, the concept album Clockwork Angels, is released today.
You know you want it. Don't bother fighting it, just go out and buy a copy already.
You know you want it. Don't bother fighting it, just go out and buy a copy already.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Sandbox superhero campaigns (part 2)
(part one can be found here)Patrolling the city is a classic element of superhero comics. Not all superheroes patrol, of course - many wait until they get news of a crime to follow up on it, via radio or tv reports, and some superheroes are well-connected enough with the local government that they rely on being alerted to any crimes as they occur.
That said, some heroes prefer to be a little more pro-active in their heroics, Batman being the classic example with his nighttime patrols. It can be a valuable tool for a hero in a sandbox superhero campaign, running across villains, encountering clues that can perhaps lead to something greater, or just running across lesser problems that still need dealing with (and perhaps picking up some extra XP for the hero in the process).
The GM for a superhero sandbox campaign needs to determine how finely detailed they want patrolling to be, and as a result how many dice rolls they're willing to put up with as a result. My preference is for breaking things down into four-hour blocks, but you could probably narrow things down to individual one-hour blocks if you preferred.
Determine what part of town the hero is patrolling during a given time-block, and then see if that particular neighborhood falls under the Area of Operations (AoO) of any villains or organizations to determine any Major Encounters. If no villains or organizations operate in the area, there will be no major encounters, no matter how long the hero patrols there. Otherwise, there is a cumulative 1-in-10 chance for each villain/organization's AoO of such an encounter (for example, if two solo villains, a villain group, and an organization all have AoO's in a particular neighborhood, then there is a 4-in-10 chance of a encounter with one of them during a given patrol). If more than one villain or organization is in the area, determine randomly which is encountered. No matter how many villains or organizations are present, a roll of a 10 on a d10 indicates no major encounter during that patrol. Note that the time of day may affect the odds of such an encounter; if a vampire is operating in the area, for example, their AoO would not modify the encounter roll if the hero insists on patrolling during the daylight hours.
During a major encounter, determine if the villain or organization would prefer to attack the hero, or would rather continue on unnoticed. Most villains will be aggressive, but some would prefer to commit their crimes unnoticed, or might not want to stop to beat up the hero as they're on the way (to their minds) to something more important. Most organizations will prefer to operate without drawing superheroic attention, but if there is bad blood between the hero and the organization, it's possible they may be laying in wait to attack the hero, especially if said hero has made a habit of patrolling this particular area. If the villain or organization is aggressive, assume they are trying to ambush the hero (give the hero a chance to notice what's about to happen, based on how your individual game system handles this sort of thing). Otherwise, the hero has spotted the villain or organization in the middle of some crime (or on the way to or from same), and can either try to stop the crime in progress, or can attempt to follow them back to their base of operations.
If a major encounter does not occur during the patrol, there is also a chance of the hero encountering a Major Clue, but only if they are looking specifically for a villain or organization that operates in the area, or hunting for clues to a crime tied to a villain or organization in the area (even if the hero is as yet unaware of the connection between the crime and the villain/organization). Roll a d10, a modified 10+ indicates a clue of some sort is uncovered, allow a +1 to the roll if the hero has a skill or background relevant to the search (electronics skill while hunting an electrical villain,or a military background while observing an organization recruiting ex-military types as mercs, for example), and another +1 if the hero has a detective skill/background). Note that the clue may not necessarily be a physical object; an informant with relevant dirt on the villain or organization is also applicable.
If neither a major encounter or major clue is rolled, then there is always a chance of a Minor Encounter. The odds of such an encounter, and the nature thereof, vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. Relative safe areas only have a 2-in-10 chance of a minor encounter, high-incident areas have a 4-in-10 chance, and most neighborhoods have a 3-in-10 chance of such an encounter (if for some reason the heroes head out into the suburbs, the chance of anything interesting drops to 1-in-20). This can lead to one of nine different types of encounter:
Assault - where one or more (non-powered) individuals are attacking one or more victims; this is often something as simple as a fistfight, although it can be as complicated as the GM wishes. There is a chance that an assault is actually a rumble, which involve two (or more) larger groups fighting each other; generally there is a 1-in-10 chance of this, but if street gangs operate in the area, it becomes a 1-in-6 chance. Note that a rumble does not have to include street gangs; rival sport fans, clashing racial groups, gays vs gay-bashers, and union members vs scabs are also possible rumbles, depending on the area in question.
Burglary - anything from a mugging to a late-night robbery to a bank heist.
Citizens Endangered - where normal people are put at risk, in such a manner that hopefully the hero can help to save the day. The situation might be either natural or unplanned (such as a bridge collapse or an apartment fire), or might be the product of human design (such as a kidnapping or hostage situation); the former is more likely in poorer areas, and the latter more likely in wealthier areas.
Contraband - where some illicit cargo is being moved from buyer to seller. Most likely drugs, but illegal weapons are also a popular option, and explosives, stolen goods, and even human cargo are possibilities.
Grand Theft Auto - where a vehicle or vehicles of some sort is being stolen. Optionally, this category also includes criminals using a vehicle of some sort as part of their crimes (a souped-up getaway car in a bank heist, or a helicopter from an industrial raid), which should ideally lead to a high-speed chase on the part of the hero.
Law Enforcement - an encounter with the local constables. If the hero is on good terms with the local authorities, this is usually not a problem, and may even result in the hero possibly getting some useful info as a result. If the hero is wanted by the law, or is disliked by the authorities, then the police may try to harass or arrest the hero. If there are NPC superheroes in the area, there is a chance that the PC runs into them instead (1-in-10 chance if only one NPC hero in the city, 1-in-6 chance if more than one, determine which one randomly).
Observation Rewarded - where the hero encounters some minor clue (perhaps through an informant or passerby witness) regarding a villain, organization, or street gang in the area, or a suspicious-acting person that might lead to the same. Either way, there's a 1-in-6 chance that it turns out to be a false alarm or red herring.
Vandalism - the destruction of private property (arson is a common example of this); this can range from spray-painting valuable works of art at a museum to planting bombs at a local sports stadium.
Weird Stuff - includes a variety of encounters that fall outside the usual superhero fare, which may or may not be immediately hostile or dangerous. This often has a supernatural element to it (ghost sightings, vampire attacks, etc), in which case there is a 1-in-10 chance that its actually a trick or scam of some sort. Not all weird stuff need be supernatural in origin; hearing voices from the future (created by a nearby high-tech experiment with tachyons) or extra-dimensional rifts temporarily showing up are non-supernatural examples of weird stuff.
Each neighborhood should have its own 'encounter table', listing both the chances of a minor encounter, and a table for what sort of encounter comes up. A baker's dozen of stereotypical neighborhoods are included below; modify for your individual cities and neighborhoods as you see fit:
RESIDENTIAL, WEALTHY (2-in-10 chance of encounter) 1 Assault 2-7 Burglary 8-9 Citizens Endangered 10 Contraband 11-12 Grand Theft Auto 13-16 Law Enforcement 17-18 Observation Rewarded 19 Vandalism 20 Weird Stuff RESIDENTIAL, MIDDLE-CLASS (3-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-3 Assault 4-7 Burglary 8-9 Citizens Endangered 10 Contraband 11-12 Grand Theft Auto 13-15 Law Enforcement 16-18 Observation Rewarded 19 Vandalism 20 Weird Stuff RESIDENTIAL, BOHEMIAN (2-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-2 Assault 3-7 Burglary 8-9 Citizens Endangered 10-12 Contraband 13-15 Grand Theft Auto 16-17 Law Enforcement 18 Observation Rewarded 19 Vandalism 20 Weird Stuff RESIDENTIAL, POOR (4-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-4 Assault 4-6 Burglary 7 Citizens Endangered 8-10 Contraband 11 Grand Theft Auto 12-13 Law Enforcement 14-16 Observation Rewarded 17-18 Vandalism 19-20 Weird Stuff RESIDENTIAL, SLUM (4-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-5 Assault 6 Burglary 7 Citizens Endangered 8-10 Contraband 11 Grand Theft Auto 12 Law Enforcement 13-16 Observation Rewarded 17-18 Vandalism 19-20 Weird Stuff CHINATOWN (2-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-2 Assault 3-4 Burglary 5-6 Citizens Endangered 7-11 Contraband 12 Grand Theft Auto 13-14 Law Enforcement 15-17 Observation Rewarded 18 Vandalism 19-20 Weird Stuff BARRIO (3-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-4 Assault 5-6 Burglary 7 Citizens Endangered 8-11 Contraband 12 Grand Theft Auto 13-14 Law Enforcement 15-16 Observation Rewarded 17-18 Vandalism 19-20 Weird Stuff CAMPUS DISTRICT (2-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-3 Assault 4-8 Burglary 9-10 Citizens Endangered 11 Contraband 12 Grand Theft Auto 13-16 Law Enforcement 17-18 Observation Rewarded 19 Vandalism 20 Weird Stuff WATERFRONT (3-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-3 Assault 4-5 Burglary 6 Citizens Endangered 7-12 Contraband 13-14 Grand Theft Auto 15-16 Law Enforcement 17-18 Observation Rewarded 19 Vandalism 20 Weird Stuff FINANCIAL DISTRICT (2-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-2 Assault 3-6 Burglary 7 Citizens Endangered 8 Contraband 9-10 Grand Theft Auto 11-14 Law Enforcement 15-17 Observation Rewarded 18-19 Vandalism 20 Weird Stuff INDUSTRIAL AREA, HIGH-TECH (2-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-2 Assault 3-7 Burglary 8 Citizens Endangered 9 Contraband 10-11 Grand Theft Auto 12-14 Law Enforcement 15-17 Observation Rewarded 18 Vandalism 10-20 Weird Stuff INDUSTRIAL AREA, BLUE-COLLAR (3-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-3 Assault 4-6 Burglary 7 Citizens Endangered 8 Contraband 9 Grand Theft Auto 10-12 Law Enforcement 13-16 Observation Rewarded 17-19 Vandalism 20 Weird Stuff INDUSTRIAL AREA, BETTER DAYS GONE BY (3-in-10 chance of encounter) 1-3 Assault 4-7 Burglary 8-9 Citizens Endangered 10-12 Contraband 13 Grand Theft Auto 14 Law Enforcement 15-17 Observation Rewarded 18-19 Vandalism 20 Weird Stuff(much of the info here on minor encounters is inspired by the DC Heroes supplement Night in Gotham, which took a similar approach to handling nightly patrols)
If no major encounters, major clues, or minor encounter are rolled for the time-block in question, then nothing of note occurs during that particular patrol. Even superheroes sometimes have slow nights...
(part three continues here)
Friday, June 8, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
V&V Vednesday: Intercrime
(a counter-post to last month's C.H.E.S.S. entry, this time showing how I've tweaked in my games the classic V&V bad guy organization for my own ends)
No one is exactly certain just how long Intercrime has been around - even most of its operatives are ignorant of the group's full history. The best intel that C.H.E.S.S. has been able to gather indicates that the organization has its roots in the latter 19th century, specifically the British criminal organization created by the Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty. Said organization continued to thrive after the Professor's death, in no small part due to the 'computing devices' that Moriarty had developed (based on the designs by Charles Babbage) before his death. Moriarty's legacy became an international organization after it was taken over by the French criminal mastermind known as Fantômas.
Intercrime, as it was now known to a select few, operated quietly throughout much of the 20th century. It wasn't until the proliferation of superhumans in the latter half of the century that some of the organization's various operations became better known to various world governments. They also came to the attention of the newly-formed U.S. government agency known as C.H.E.S.S. The enmity between these two groups was as quick to form as it would be long-lasting.
The classic M.O. of Intercrime (as detailed in the V&V rulebook) stayed fairly consistent throughout the last days of the 20th century. As with so much else, the events of 9/11 changed things for the criminal organization. Intercrime had sold Al Qaeda the experimental psionic scrambling devices that helped to prevent precognitives from foreseeing the terrorist attacks. This was initially considered a huge boon for Intercrime, helping a low-tech terrorist organization to make such a striking blow against the world's most powerful nation. However, the reprisals against Intercrime by various superhero groups were plentiful, and the organization became severely weakened as a result. Eventually, the criminal organization fractured into two competing groups, both laying claim to the name of Intercrime, something that isn't common knowledge even to most superheroes.
The first group concentrates on building financial power quietly and in such a manner as to hopefully draw less attention from C.H.E.S.S. and those ever-present superheroes. Violence is still very much a tool in their arsenal, but theft, blackmail, drug dealing, and money laundering, once scorned as 'lesser' crimes, is now very much a part of the first group's day-to-day operations. This group seeks to return to the model of the early 20th century, when Intercrime held great power, but stayed behind the scenes: they wish to control the world's various governments, but not in an overt manner, preferring to be the 'power behind the throne'.
The second group prefers overt, flashy crimes, the sort that leads to open chaos, terror and destruction. The overall goal here seems to be weakening the various world's governments to the point that a direct takeover can be accomplished. The latter group is more likely to draw attention from C.H.E.S.S. and various superheroes, but they are also better connected to various supervillains.
The two groups are in a vicious war with each other in hopes of claiming the name of Intercrime in a decisive manner. For the most part, this war has been fought 'off the grid', but it has occasionally lead to the deaths of various innocent bystanders. The two groups have ways of identifying themselves among each other by signal and countersign, but an outside supervillain, even if they knew of the organization's dogmatic split, would be hard pressed to know which group they were dealing with.
To make matters even more confusing, there are now two individuals calling themselves Crimelord, identical to each other in virtually every way possible, each leading one of the two splinter cells of Intercrime. The common theory within both factions is that cloning (something Crimelord has dabbled with in the past) is involved; both sides believe that 'their' Crimelord is the original, and that the other faction's leader is the clone.
(artwork from Intercrime: Hostile Takeover by Monkey House Games)
No one is exactly certain just how long Intercrime has been around - even most of its operatives are ignorant of the group's full history. The best intel that C.H.E.S.S. has been able to gather indicates that the organization has its roots in the latter 19th century, specifically the British criminal organization created by the Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty. Said organization continued to thrive after the Professor's death, in no small part due to the 'computing devices' that Moriarty had developed (based on the designs by Charles Babbage) before his death. Moriarty's legacy became an international organization after it was taken over by the French criminal mastermind known as Fantômas.
Intercrime, as it was now known to a select few, operated quietly throughout much of the 20th century. It wasn't until the proliferation of superhumans in the latter half of the century that some of the organization's various operations became better known to various world governments. They also came to the attention of the newly-formed U.S. government agency known as C.H.E.S.S. The enmity between these two groups was as quick to form as it would be long-lasting.
The classic M.O. of Intercrime (as detailed in the V&V rulebook) stayed fairly consistent throughout the last days of the 20th century. As with so much else, the events of 9/11 changed things for the criminal organization. Intercrime had sold Al Qaeda the experimental psionic scrambling devices that helped to prevent precognitives from foreseeing the terrorist attacks. This was initially considered a huge boon for Intercrime, helping a low-tech terrorist organization to make such a striking blow against the world's most powerful nation. However, the reprisals against Intercrime by various superhero groups were plentiful, and the organization became severely weakened as a result. Eventually, the criminal organization fractured into two competing groups, both laying claim to the name of Intercrime, something that isn't common knowledge even to most superheroes.
The first group concentrates on building financial power quietly and in such a manner as to hopefully draw less attention from C.H.E.S.S. and those ever-present superheroes. Violence is still very much a tool in their arsenal, but theft, blackmail, drug dealing, and money laundering, once scorned as 'lesser' crimes, is now very much a part of the first group's day-to-day operations. This group seeks to return to the model of the early 20th century, when Intercrime held great power, but stayed behind the scenes: they wish to control the world's various governments, but not in an overt manner, preferring to be the 'power behind the throne'.
The second group prefers overt, flashy crimes, the sort that leads to open chaos, terror and destruction. The overall goal here seems to be weakening the various world's governments to the point that a direct takeover can be accomplished. The latter group is more likely to draw attention from C.H.E.S.S. and various superheroes, but they are also better connected to various supervillains.
The two groups are in a vicious war with each other in hopes of claiming the name of Intercrime in a decisive manner. For the most part, this war has been fought 'off the grid', but it has occasionally lead to the deaths of various innocent bystanders. The two groups have ways of identifying themselves among each other by signal and countersign, but an outside supervillain, even if they knew of the organization's dogmatic split, would be hard pressed to know which group they were dealing with.
To make matters even more confusing, there are now two individuals calling themselves Crimelord, identical to each other in virtually every way possible, each leading one of the two splinter cells of Intercrime. The common theory within both factions is that cloning (something Crimelord has dabbled with in the past) is involved; both sides believe that 'their' Crimelord is the original, and that the other faction's leader is the clone.
(artwork from Intercrime: Hostile Takeover by Monkey House Games)
R.I.P. Ray Bradbury
Anyone who reads this blog has probably already heard the news, but legendary author Ray Bradbury has passed away. Bradbury, probably more than any other author, was responsible for bringing the scorned genre of science fiction into the literary mainstream during the 20th century. I won't claim to have read all of his works (that would be my wife), but I have read and enjoyed The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, and Something Wicked This Way Comes, as well as some of his short fiction.
And so almost all of the legendary sci-fi and fantasy writers of the mid-20th century are gone (Jack Vance and Frederik Pohl are still with us, but that's about it).
Thank you, Mr. Bradbury, for everything.
Oh, and on a less serious note, here's Rachel Bloom's bawdy and irreverent tribute to the man (mildly NSFW):
 | ||
| Ray Bradbury 1920-2012 |
Thank you, Mr. Bradbury, for everything.
Oh, and on a less serious note, here's Rachel Bloom's bawdy and irreverent tribute to the man (mildly NSFW):
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Transit of Venus
Watch it live here. You won't get another chance for over a century, with the next one occurring in 2117.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Traveller5 kickstarter
Marc Miller has set up a kickstarter program to help fund his been-in-development-for-ages 5th edition of the Traveller ruleset, which you can see the pitch for here.
I'm of two minds about this. Personally, I prefer my Traveller lean and simple, although some of the new proposed options do sound awfully spiffy. I have no real inclination to fork out $100+ for yet another version of Traveller - got plenty of the earlier editions already - but that said I hope that this is successful, and that Miller succeeds in publishing his 'ultimate' version of the classic SFRPG.
I'm of two minds about this. Personally, I prefer my Traveller lean and simple, although some of the new proposed options do sound awfully spiffy. I have no real inclination to fork out $100+ for yet another version of Traveller - got plenty of the earlier editions already - but that said I hope that this is successful, and that Miller succeeds in publishing his 'ultimate' version of the classic SFRPG.
