seneschal

For me, one of the most impressive moment in Starblazers was an early episode where the Gamalons are bombing the dessicated surface of Earth in what used to be the Pacific Ocean near the rusted, nearly unrecognizable hulk of a ship. Suddenly, the ship's gun turrets swivel as thick inches of ocean crud flake off -- to reveal fresh paint (???). The bombers are blasted into tinfoil, then the entire hulk levitates, rust and corrosion falling away in a virtual rain of dust, to reveal the shiny new Yamato (Argo in the American version) reborn. Hey, waitaminute! Where'd those tail fins come from?

"Yes, mostly the end of WWII anit-American stuff that wouldn't have gone over well in the States." They started it. We finished it. No apologies. Besides, with manga, anime, electronic games, and Hello Kitty, they've succeeded in taking over the world, after all.

Sure. I was wanting to stat up Gabara, the craven bully who picked on Godzilla's son in Godzilla's Revenge, but wasn't sure how to proceed.

"And after seeing the main gun from Macross, I don't sweat the Yamato's Undulation Cannon." Since either weapon makes the Death Star look like a Derringer, such a duel would be sort of like a confrontation between two Old West gunslingers. Barring targeting system failure, whichever side managed to ready and shoot its main gun first would win. Of course, cranking up that amount of energy takes a while ... "Fire the Wave Motion Gun!" "Yessir. It'll be ready in about ... oh, 20 minutes or so." "Sigh. I'll just hit the men's room, grab a cup of coffee from the officer's mess, and come back." Obviously, those combat scenes were edited a bit for television.

I thought your Godzilla write-up was good as far as it went, although the residual radiation damage from the previous Godzilla version was a nice touch. Action! System did something similar to your mecha scale system when Firefly Games wrote Monster Island: The Game of Giant Monster Combat. The other stats were the same, but STR scaled differently (but consistently, and you could do a conversion). It kept things manageable.

Sounds like a good plan, and a logical outgrowth of your other plot threads. I agree, one group of baddies is enough, especially for a lone superhero. Hope everyone gets to feeling better soon so you can continue the game.

Heh, but once you finish rolling those six random stats, you have to deal with 250 skill points, a variable number of personal skill points, plus whatever points you have to buy super powers or magic spells with. So, yes, BRP is as much a point-buy game as Hero System, despite denials to the contrary. The balanced characters issue is merely a red herring. Sorry. Derived stats, point-buy skills and powers, DEX ranks, it is all there, just like in Champions.

A few years ago, I did indeed read most of the Oz books and wrote nine characters up for Hero System, eight heroes and one master villain. You can find them here: http://www.sysabend.org/champions/gnborh/groups/gnborh-Classic.html The Hero stats and my descriptions should give you a good leg up on doing BRP stats. Hero System killing attacks equal BRP damage. Divide Hero System regular damage by three to get a BRP equivalent. Hero strength scales differently than BRP; 40 STR in BRP is 28 STR in Hero, for example, but you can compare them by the amount of damage they do or by the amount they allow a character to lift. Hero skills are based on a 3D6 roll under rather than percentile. So an 8- skill roll is iffy; 11- is average, competent; a 14- skill roll is good; 18- skill roll is amazing. Skills in Hero System are cheap, so characters tend to have lots of them. Hero characters pay for their build (characteristics and powers/skills) points with Disadvantages, which are similar to Superworld Failings. For your BRP conversions, you'd just pick one or two of the most important ones. Hero Talents can be mimicked by BRP powers; Perks are the sort of thing that would just be role-played in BRP (such as being disgustingly rich) or represented by a high skill roll (such as having a high social status, Status for BRP). In Hero System, 100-150 points is a character of action movie competence. Around 200-ish is low superhero level or really powerful pulp adventurer level. 250 points was, at the time I did the write-ups, where your standard superheros started out. So Dorothy, Oz, and the Shaggy Man are highly capable normals, while Dorothy's three companions are superhero material. Roquat of the Rocks, Nome King, the only villain to survive to face Dorothy more than once, is definitely a master villain.

"Holla-walla, holla-walla, KONG! KONG!" The cover also brings to mind those collapsed, decadent civilizations Sinbad and crew kept running across.

I've got a copy of your earlier SIZ musings. Do you have a new, improved and complete revised SIZ chart (with bleach and mountain-fresh scent)?

Heh, that's one SEGA game I missed. After my time, I suppose. http://www.segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/jsrf_chars.jpg The guy, top row, far right, is the general idea, although I didn't envision Benny as a brawny brute. http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/23200000/JSR-Characters-jet-set-radio-future-23279587-1052-600.jpg Although I conceived of Boom Box Benny years before I was married, the current incarnation is at least in part influenced by my son, although he prefers tiny MP3 players to the massive boom boxes from my youth. In his Champions incarnation, Boom Box Benny was the leader of a gang of mall rats who preferred shoplifting to spray painting. While discussing video game violence with my son recently, he made the comment, "Back in your day ...." I replied, "It's STILL my day, Buckaroo, and don't you forget it!"

ORtrail's description of introducing his niece to role-playing inspired me to write up some characters. I originally created Boom Box Benny for Champions but here he is for BRP. Boom Box Benny Quote: “Duuuuuude! You’ll never catch Boom Box Benny, King of the Skaters!” Benjamin Finklestein, petty thief and not-so-petty annoyance, grew up tinkering with the junk in the back of his grandfather’s electronics repair shop, when he wasn’t ditching his homework to practice skateboard acrobatics with his friends on the sidewalks out front. Despite Grandpa’s insistence that education was the key to a better future, study just didn’t seem all that interesting … until the day two well-dressed but rough-looking men brought in some odd gizmos to be fixed. The badly damaged gadgets were like nothing that Benjamin (or his grandfather, for that matter) had ever seen. “Never mind what it does, Pops,” the men told Grandpa. “Just get it working.” When his grandfather indignantly protested that this was impossible, the men grudgingly supplied a set of schematics. Benjamin was fascinated. He diligently watched as Grandpa compared the diagrams to the objects on the workshop table. He held tools, solder and test equipment while his grandfather bent and spliced, cut away and replaced portions of circuitry, carefully adjusted crystalline-looking components, and tested connections. The men seemed satisfied with Grandpa’s work, took the devices and schematics, and paid him well, warning him to keep his mouth shut about the job. But Benjamin had noticed more than his grandfather’s careful repairs. The connections, wiring and circuitry had changed in between work sessions, sometimes in barely perceptible ways and other times more obviously. Grandpa had frowned thoughtfully but hadn’t said anything about it. And there were always small parts left over somehow, including crystals. It almost seemed as if the leftover parts were growing and spreading, like mold or lichen. The tough-looking men had taken these extras along with the schematics. They didn’t get all of them, however. Benjamin had grabbed a few to examine more closely when Grandpa wasn’t looking, had hidden them inside the hulk of a decades-old portable radio and cassette player that he used as a stand for his skateboard when he wasn’t riding. He returned to claim his prizes the day after the men had left but found them missing. Instead, the formerly dusty interior of the bulky boom box bristled with shiny new electronics like those from the machines Grandpa had repaired. It worked now, with a sound crisper and louder than much newer portable music devices he’d seen in store displays. Benjamin found the boom box changed to accept whatever music-bearing media was offered to it. Benjamin’s skateboard was also crusted with the circuitry, although it didn’t interfere with the movement of the wheels. In fact, the additions made the ride faster and smoother than ever before and enabled Benjamin to perform aerial acrobatic stunts he’d only dreamed about. He discovered the radio’s offensive capabilities when some thugs tried to rob Grandpa’s shop. Benny blasted them out the shop door and across the street. He’s been cocky ever since. Boom Box Benny is a short, wiry kid somewhere in his early teens. He doesn’t wear a costume as such but assorted hats, tee shirts, and shorts bearing the logos of various skateboard manufacturers such as Reckless (which describes Benny’s outlook pretty well). He never wears a helmet or pads (which would give him a modicum of safety and some Armor). Although he’s pretty good at skateboarding, his powers derive primarily from his augmented boom box and board. In addition to playing normal music beautifully, the boom box can emit damaging blasts of concentrated sound at Benny’s mental command. The skateboard gives Benny unnatural agility, speed and leaping ability. Even without his gear, he’s pretty nimble and sneaky, and he can make a normal skateboard seem to fly. He isn’t a supervillain yet, but he is a super nuisance with his pranks, public stunts, and pilfering. For now, Boom Box Benny is exploring his powers and tweaking adult authority when he can get away with it. He still listens to his grandfather, however, and will do anything to protect him. Boom Box Benny is apt to stumble into the middle of things when player-character heroes are trying to stop a crime or get the drop on a malefactor. He’s absolutely fearless, likely to circle a master villain and shout taunts, then zoom away, attempting to blast the heroes when they intervene to protect him. STR 11 CON 15 SIZ 8 INT 13 POW 11 DEX 17 APP 10 Move: 10, skateboard 12 Hit Points: 23 (CON+SIZ) Damage Bonus: +0 Armor: None Attacks: Brawl 25%, 1D3+DB; Grapple 25%, 1D3+DB; Rousing Round of Blazing Sound 68%, 3D6 Skills: Climb 46%, Dodge 68%, Drive (Skateboard) 70%, Fine Manipulation 56%, Hide 61%, Jump 60%, Knowledge (All – just ask him) 100%, Listen 25%, Projection 68%, Repair (Electronics) 49%, Spot 59%, Stealth 61% Powers: Defense, six levels, -30% to be hit; Energy Projection (Sound), three levels, 3D6 damage, 3 power points per use; Extra Energy, +100 power points; Leap, five levels, +10 meters to Jump; Super Speed, two levels, -20% to be hit, 2 power points per combat round Failings: Socially excluded group (minor), +3 points; Sulky, reckless teenager, +2 points; Dependent, Grandpa, infrequent, +1 Notes: 250 skill points plus 130 personal skill points = 380 total. 85 initial power points based on characteristics total plus 6 for Failings = total 91

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Pinky?" "Sure, Brain. But how are we going to get the zebras into tutus?" "Pinky, I think I'm going to have to hurt you!"

Power Armor Princesses vs. Vampire Ninjas in the Valley of the Winds, featuring retro-airship combat and cameos by Totoro, Astroboy and Gigantor, naturally! Combatants chauffeured to the battlefield by members of the Racer family. Chinese ghost stories to follow in the wake of the carnage.

I'm in to free and easy. Although I love the Traveller star ship rules (best ever written in my opinion), they aren't either. However, Legends of Time and Space (www.darkcitygames.com) includes a very basic set of ship combat rules in its free downloadable sample scenario. Another free and easy: Mini Six (AntiPaladin Games) includes vehicle rules including star ships AND a pre-done space opera setting in the fan submissions area (done by myself).

Unless you're an energetic movie producer eager to capture sights no Western man has ever seen ...

Her mentor, Stinger, could be a source of plot hooks, too. He's retired, but suppose one of his old enemies (or the son/daughter or grandchildren of an old foe) shows up intent on revenge? Or, perhaps someone he cares about -- a close friend, an old flame -- is suddenly threatened and Stinger comes out of retirement. You haven't made clear whether his (and Firefly's) powers are natural/biological or whether they depend on some sort of gear or gadgetry. Who knows what the old costume will do once it is taken out of mothballs? Also, sure Stinger is old and possibly out of practice, but he also has decades of experience as a superhero.

It's fun hearing how your niece is having fun. And your convoluted plot is bubbling along nicely. Her attitude seems more one of a pulp adventurer or casual do-gooder than dedicated crime-fighter. Seeing that people's precious kitties are being sacrificed to mad science, would she really walk away without even reporting it to the police or DCS? Your approach seems sensible. If she ignores Dr. Flynn's schemes, there should be consequences of some sort -- not punitive against her necessarily but bad stuff happening because she didn't act when she could have. Sort of a Peter Parker "With great power comes great responsibility" moment. Perhaps little Grace and her mother are among the citizens threatened by the "flying tiger" that escapes from the lab. Perhaps Grace turns up missing. Disappointed by Firefly's apparent non-involvement in the loss of her cat, she chose to play detective herself and stumbled into Dr. Flynn's business. Of course, she was captured and held captive as a pending test subject. Maybe Firefly, in her civilian identity, encounters Watchdog in his civilian identity (assuming he has one). Would she recognize him? What would she do? Or maybe she doesn't recognize him, and he asks her out -- only later does she discover what her new boyfriend does to earn date money. You've successfully transitioned from the Criminal Mimes robbery attempt to Dr. Flynn's apparently unrelated animal theft racket. Keep it up, and have something in the Flynn investigation lead to Firefly's next big encounter or opponent. Will Grace and her mother be recurring NPCs? Will the Mimes escape and seek revenge? You've got the makings of a true comic book soap opera. Just curious, what motivated your niece's desire to change her character's name and secret ID?

If you've got the Big Gold Book, start out with Profession: Criminal, then add Pilot: Aero-ship and possibly Repair (to keep it going). Your Smuggler would want Bargain, Appraise, and Insight to be able to make good deals for himself. You might want to add some combat skills, too, since his clients aren't probably the most trustworthy folks. For a non-human, start with the human dice rolls as a baseline. Then think of an animal your mutant might have gotten some of his genes from. Then boost STR or DEX appropriately. Monkey? Increase his Climb, Dodge, and Jump skills. Dog or cat? Enhanced sense (smell, sight, or hearing) might be appropriate. Bull or boar? He's real strong and maybe has a Natural Weapon like horns or tusks.

Yeah, the character generators I've found are for vintage versions of RuneQuest or Call of Cthulhu. So far, no Superworld generators. Just didn't want you to think we were ignoring you.

And here I thought you wanted stats for the professional wrestler cum actor! "If you want to catch a girl's attention you gotta pop your pecs!" -- Journey 2: Mysterious Island

Hey, BRP is deadly enough as it is. Take every break you can get!

Two of my favorite animated movies are The Secret of NIHM (book Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIHM) and The Great Mouse Detective (book Basil of Baker Street). Both films end happily for our animal protagonists, but upon second thought I'm not sure they ended so happily for the humans nominally in the background. If you change the stories' point of view, the results become rather scary. After all, Willard (book The Ratman Diaries) had a similar premise. In all three cases, you've got rodents of human or in some cases (Nicodemas, Basil, Ratigan) superhuman intelligence running loose and building their own society right under our noses. They're capable of using and adapting our technology and of inventing their own. They have their own agendas, and in some cases (Jenner, Sullivan, Ratigan, Ben) their interests are hostile to ours. They are much longer lived than ordinary rodents but presumably reproduce faster than men (although gestation and child-rearing times would be much longer than for non-sentient rats and mice). They are capable of interbreeding with normal rodents, giving them the potential to "uplift" the species as a whole. Victorian society (Cthulhu by Gaslight) was wholly unaware of them. Modern society (Delta Green/The Laundry) couldn't contain them in high-security laboratories. They can slip through locked doors and windows, air shafts and water pipes, infiltrate our homes, businesses, seats of government, industrial complexes, data fortresses. They can speak and read human languages just fine, although we may be unable to comprehend theirs. And they have a growing, urgent need for energy, food supplies, and other materials to sustain and build their hidden but expanding communities. So, the investigators are dealing with a series of burglaries, thefts of inventions, blackmail threats, etc., apparently the work of a criminal mastermind. Except the mind isn't human ...

Sounds fun. You don't have to develop the DCS fully in advance to run your scenario. Introduce your agent contacts (Friday and Gannon, J and K or Scully and Mulder clones?) and develop their relationship with supers from there. Do they respect superheroes? Consider them "pajama-clad weirdos"? Are they merely official backup, or is part of their job to keep tabs on potentially dangerous vigilantes? Perhaps the actions of Queen Bee and Black Sword (Blacksword?) will determine this during play. Heh, winged monkeys are always good. Make sure the Professor's pet is at least chimpanzee size so it can give the heroes a good tussle (Robert Howard threw winged gorillas at Conan; why have Planet of the Apes when you can have City of the Winged Apes?).

Unfortunately I can't take the credit. Dr. Entropy and the trashed NYC metro area he inhabits were created by Steve Meretzky, responsible for many early interactive computer games. Superhero League of Hoboken was a comedy game, so despite the destruction, things were haywire in what was intended to be the silliest manner possible. One village was endangered by rabid sheep. A church whose sacred relic was a Windows 3.x era computer needed tech support. One of Dr. Entropy's schemes was to breed giant pigeons with "perfect aim," making travel and trade impossible.