seneschal

But Sinbad movies absolutely have weird mutant people, usually feral descendants of whatever lost civilization he's discovered this time, and these nasty little dire dwarves qualify. Give 'em squad tactics and a shaman with a dirty magical trick or two up his sleeve, and let 'em be recruited as henchmen by your Harryhausenian Big Bad sorcerer. Nothing says "creepy" like horny little man-things drooling over the captive princess.

Yes, these are Arthur Machen and Robert Howard dwarves, "Children of the Night," rather than Tolkien-style gem miners. Decadent, depraved Things That Were Once Men but have grown apart from humanity after long separation. Driven from the surface of prehistoric Europe by waves of invaders, they nurse an ancestral hatred of men, retaining their skill with Stone Age weaponry and dark, forgotten arts. Lock up your women and children and don't cross the moor at night (at least not alone) when the powers of evil are exalted.

I'm certainly no expert, but I've found this web site helpful: CoCCG - Call of Cthulhu Creature Generator It's basically a dice roller for people and critter stats, but the rolls vary among certain ranges: Absolutely Pathetic, Worthless, Lame, Lousy, Average, Awesome, Fantastic, Mighty, Out of This World. And you can generate up to 100 examples of a particular type of NPC in your chosen power range. For, say, teenagers (nothing special but young and healthy) I'd use Average. A competent adult might be Awesome, while an action movie star might be Awesome or Fantastic. Superheroes will tend to be Fantastic or Mighty. Competent goons would be Average, while cannon fodder minions might be Lousy or Lame. As Chaot says, I use the skill level of starting player-characters to judge how competent an NPC should be. A typical starting PC has 250 skill points, giving him two or three abilities he's pretty good in (50% or more), but most averaging around 30-35%. A Big Bad might have 500 skill points, just like a starting superhero. A competent opponent would have 250 like the PCs. Minions might have a small number of skills in the 25-40% range. Using both of these methods for (for example) a lion, you could come up with opponents ranging from Oz's Cowardly Lion to Narnia's Aslan while still adhering to BRP's standard characteristics rolls.

I don't think we've had one specifically, although we have had several threads in the main BRP discussion area dealing with superheroes in general.

He's not canon, but I like the concept. As a graveyard shift cashier at Walmart, I can confirm that one of those returns carts could contain anything, ANYTHING! Bruce Campbell ("Shop smart. Shop S-Mart!") should be so lucky. On the other hand, while I know BRP has a Drive skill, can its Powers set simulate a utility belt or bag of many things gimmick that can produce almost any useful item in a timely manner? Also, as a loyal employee, I take umbrage, Sir, at your putting the word heroes in quotation marks. Can you doubt that these selfless associates are anything but pure of heart? On the other hand, I can totally see Corporate Security as a high-tech entity along the lines of SHIELD, VIPER, or the competing organizations from G.I. Joe. After all, they've got a global jurisdiction to protect (and I bet you many if not most Walmart-owned stores have a Justice League/Star Trek variety teleportation bay hidden in some locked room).

Tut, tut, that's a -1 Limitation for Obvious, Accessible Focus, since the toothbrush can be seen by bystanders while in use and can be snatched away with a successful DEX or Sleight of Hand skill roll (Fine Manipulation in BRP terms). Take another -2 Limitation, Independent, since another character could take and use the toothbrush for himself (yuck!). In Superworld phraseology, it's one level of Protection vs. plaque, 1 power point to use (since, of course, you're scrubbing your teeth vigorously for at least 3 minutes. Aren't you? No, no, no. None or this "swirl it around and spit" nonsense. Go right back in there and brush 'em right this time, young man!).

We've all seen similar scenarios in the comics or on assorted animated series: the hero of our favorite superhero title is confronted by a group of opponents whose members were given their abilities and are sponsored by a corporate entity. However, the largest private employer in the world isn't Stark Enterprises, Star Labs or Lexcorp. It's Walmart, rural dime store chain grown into a global phenomenon. It had to happen and today it has; as part of its exclusive promotion deal of the upcoming Man of Steel movie, Walmart has named its official superhero team (drawn and scripted by DC Comics!). Each of these metahumans is based on a real employee. A Look at 2013 / June cover of Walmart World magazine From left to right, they are: Ninja -- loss prevention specialist skilled at fading into the background to detect shoplifters (how she does that in a slinky catsuit must involve the use of her powers) Fire Man -- emergency response and rescue expert; sometimes carries a fire extinguisher on his back The Giver -- encourages volunteerism and charitable giving in the face of natural and national disasters Path-Maker -- career guidance manager; his flowing cape billows about him dramatically whether there is a noticeable wind or not OK, here's the contest. Pick a character. Stat him or her up using the Big Gold Book and/or Superworld or Worlds of Wonder. Include a description of the character's powers, outlook, and origin. The winner gets a Marvel Comics-style No Prize. BTW, a fifth member of the team (not pictured on the cover) is Shirley Shrinkage, Walmart's first superhero, who gained her powers in 1986 after encountering a barrel of radioactive waste. Also a loss prevention specialist, she's an energetic, thin, middle-aged woman with long, wavy blonde hair. Her red leotard is offset by blue headband, cape, gloves, shorts, and boots with wide cuffs.

I'm an old Champions grognard, so fistfuls of dice don't bother me. Superworld does give you a different take on supers, though, as I found out when I tried to build a sample character in both systems in another thread. http://basicroleplaying.com/basic-roleplaying/brp-superheroes-projects-2474/ DEX 15 is pretty equivalent in both systems. But STR 40 in Hero System lets you toss cars around; STR 40 in Superworld won't even allow you to lift one.

Hey! You got gritty, lethal combat in my chocolate!

I've been on a Fifties sci-fi kick lately since re-acquiring Classic Traveller. But I keep running into bits that refer me back to another recent acquisition, Call of Cthulhu. In this case, it is Robert Heinlien's Have Spacsuit -- Will Travel (1958). Recent high school graduate Kip Russell, through a convoluted series of events, is kidnapped and taken to the Moon by insectoid aliens who are scouting out Earth as a possible colony (they regard humans as tasty cattle). Like Lovecraft's Mi-Go, the Wormfaces (we never learn their proper name, they call themselves the Only People) are short, physically fragile, hyper-intelligent, have hypnotic powers (or are at least super intimindating, forcing cooperation), shoot nosey humans with portrait camera-like ray guns, and have set up an advance base on Pluto and a smaller one on the Moon. Unlike the Mi-Go, they require spacesuits and flying saucers to travel through the stars. No brains in jars; they dump the victim's whole body literally into the soup after a human minion has served his purposes. After describing the creature's tentacled upright tripedal body, Heinlien continues: No nose. He was an oxygen breather but where the air went in and out I couldn't say -- some of it through the mouth, for he could talk. The mouth was the second worst part of him; in place of jawbone and chin he had mandibles that opened sideways as well as down, gaping in three irregular sides. There were rows of tiny teeth but no tongue that I could see; instead the mouth was rimmed with cilia as long as angleworms. They never stopped squirming I said the mouth was "second worst"; he had eyes. They were big and bulging and protected by horny ridges, two on the front of his head, set wide apart. They scanned. They scanned like radar, swinging up and down and back and forth. He never looked at you and yet was always looking at you. When he turned around, I saw a third eye in back. I think he scanned his whole surroundings at all times, like a radar warning system. The Only People wouldn't get along with the Mi-Go (or anyone else, for that matter). Their racial superiority complex prevents them from regarding other sentient creatures as anything but food (although playing with one's food can sometimes be useful).

I wouldn't kick Cthulhu too hard, if I were you. He might resent it.

PA hasn't been totally ignored. We have Rubble and Ruin and Swords of Cydonia. Technically, both Chronicles of Future Earth and Hawkmoon are post-apocalyptic.

Since you've got wifie interested you are definitely doing something right. Keep on having fun.

So what would happen if you mentioned the TV movie Forbidden Kingdom to your co-worker?

I like it. You've captured the essence of the character, within the limits of BRP's super powers rules. Good job! The only thing I'd add is a good Fast-Talk and/or Intimidation skill, since he tends to do a lot of both to try and get his way.

Here's the manga I read, which captures the humor of the saga as well as the monster-bashing action: Monkey King # Volume 01 : Birth of the Stone Monkey: Wei Dong Chen, YK Kim, Jonathan Evans, Chao Peng: 9788994208459: Amazon.com: Books One of my favorite scenes is when, released from his imprisonment, the somewhat less than repentant Monkey King tosses Five Fingers Mountain into the stratosphere like a baseball. The Buddha's scroll was the only thing really holding him there. The Dark Horse Publishing version looks just plain scary, probably more appropriate to Call of Cthulhu than the iteration I know but yikes!

I've previously advocated Skeletor as a possible CoC opponent. Another candidate, in keeping with this thread's Buddhist theme, is Sun Wu Kong, the Handsome Monkey King, a character from Chinese literature. Imagine a being with the power of Goku, the personality of Bugs Bunny, and the ambition of Doctor Doom. Born of elemental forces on a mystical mountain, the Stone Monkey became a hero to a troop of normal, biological monkeys when he saved them from a carnivorous ogre. Reproved by the Powers That Be for his hijinks, Sun Wu Kong studied Buddhism under an exalted master but drove his superior nuts and was kicked out of seminary. A compulsive trickster, he robbed several sea kings of mystic items, including an unbreakable 9-ton staff that could extend to infinite lengths. The Monkey King defeated assorted monsters that were terrorizing the countryside (not necessarily out of altruism) and became so proud of himself that he sought to overthrow the Jade Emperor, King of Heaven, and seat himself upon the Jade Throne. He almost won (!) but was defeated when the Buddha himself buried Sun Wu Kong beneath a mountain and placed a scroll containing the weight of the universe at its summit. He was released after 1,000 years and, as a sort of penance, was assigned to be an assistant to a Chinese monk journeying into the West (aka India) to retrieve valuable Buddhist scrolls. Unlike Mythos entities, Sun Wu Kong isn't malicious, or even evil exactly. He's amoral, utterly thoughtless and selfish like a small child is. His rages are interrupted by "Ooooh, shiny!" moments. He's annoying and somewhat dangerous to be around but he manages to accomplish some good despite himself. I'm not sure that even Superworld could stat out this guy ... but it'd be fun to try.

Thanks for popping in. We've been worried about you guys!

I've been teasing, but a serious campaign of "Settlers in Space" could be a good one. For inspiration, Little House on the Prairie, Swiss Family Robinson and The Waltons are good places to start, as well as other frontier shows such as Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Boone, Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman and Davy Crockett and/or your favorite Westerns involving "nesters" or homesteaders. Ironically, the first season (black-and-white) of Lost in Space attempts to do this, having an emphasis on exploration and discovery -- and dealing with weird stuff encountered. Despite its goofy title, Robinson Crusoe on Mars is a decent sci-fi survival tale.

Another interesting thing about Gray Lensman is its Lensman Corps, a peacekeeping organization comprised of heroes of assorted galactic species (many/most not humanoid), each equipped with a ultra high-tech gadget that grants him/it vast powers. Now "Doc" Smith's novels didn't predate the original (magical) Green Lantern, but they did precede the Green Lantern Corps, which apparently was created by DC Comics around 1981. But Gray Lensman Kim Kinnison's companions are weirder and more alien than anything I've seen in the comics or in assorted animated series. Make your SAN roll, even if these are the good guys! Also, the technology of the Galactic Patrol (of which the Lensmen are a part) puts both Star Trek's Starfleet and Star Wars' Imperial Navy to shame, even if we are talking massive tail-landing, finned rocket ships with no integrated circuitry (heavy on the bus bars and vacuum tubes) and no computers (that's what slide rules are for). The Navy never leaves its galaxy far, far away and even the latest Enterprise (whatever letter designation) struggles to break the galactic barrier. Meanwhile, Kinnison thinks nothing of zipping over to the next galaxy (and back) to pursue an investigation, his ships are protected by multiple layers of force fields, and each ship can unleash a light show of destructive energy that makes The Last Starfighter's Death Blossom attack look puny.

The solar flares were getting rough; the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of its fearless crew the Minnow would be lost, the Minnow would be lost. On the other hand, getting spacewrecked with Ginger and Mary Anne would be no bad thing ...

Sounds like fun ... again. Great campaign you've got going there, even if it did have a hiatus.

Heh, or the storyline of Lost in Space. The Robinson family's crash site -- no matter how remote, uncharted, and inhospitable it may have been -- was apparently in a high traffic area, attracting miners, escaped convicts, Space Patrolmen, pirates, mummies, witches, cruise lines, con men, merchants, would-be conquerors, Mephistophelean bargainers, even Peter Pan. Who needs a working starship or a TARDIS when every nut within three galaxies knocks on your front hatch asking to borrow a cup of sugar?

Thanks, leonmallett. We appreciate your update. The supers genre is one of my favorite for role-playing. BRP Mecha, another title on the list, is taking pre-orders. That leaves eight projects remaining in limbo.

We've been asking for sci-fi, and now we've got it. Thanks!