seneschal

But the Credit Rating is part of who this character is. It is a major motivator for his behavior. He's a criminal who wants to become a philanthropist. Exploring why he wants to do that (repentance or a desire to extend his malign influence?) is a natural character arc. If you prevent him from going there, it would be like punishing the barbarian in a fantasy game for being stronger and tougher than the other characters or having the dashing pilot in a pulp adventure game discover he's in a world without airplanes. Now, you don't want the player to dominate the campaign, steal the limelight from other participants, and derail your plots. But he should have a chance for the gangster to throw his weight around a bit in-game. Maybe Mister Big will discover he doesn't weigh as much as the thought. Maybe he has ambitious rivals. Will he become ever more ruthless and greedy? Or will the struggle against evil -- in himself, in human opponents, in the Mythos -- mold him into the hero he never expected or perhaps never desired to be? The character's wealth isn't an unfair advantage, it is a giant plot hook. Don't strip him of it but do use it to yank him around. He's loaded? Here comes the tax man or an outside auditor for his businesses. He's got a gorgeous mansion on the hill? Everyone knows where to find him, and maybe something has decided to haunt it. Every NPC in the campaign passes through his fancy club/restaurant/undercover casino. He's got loads of contacts and useful underlings -- but he's got to keep them organized, on-task, paid, intimidated, content. He also has cops trying to nail him, rivals trying to spy on him, lesser crooks (and perhaps cultists and Mythos monsters) trying to prey on his well-heeled customers. Adventure will come looking for him, ready or not.

My concerns about Chinese printing have nothing to do with product cost but about freedom of expression. The Chinese government is perfectly happy to tell Western businesses dependent on their manufacturing what to do. We've seen it with Google, major movie studios, the National Basketball Association, and one of Chaosium's licensees. You want Chinese services and money you gotta play it their way, even to the point of self-censorship. Being concerned about that isn't "getting political." It is a Cover Your Asterisk issue. You don't want to be beholden to someone who can shut you down on a whim while you eat the time, effort and expense of creating your product.

Darth Vader: Search your feelings. You know that $150 coffee table books are the future of gaming. Luke Skywalker: [Clutching $4, essentially hand-written, copy of Tunnels and Trolls 4th edition] Noooooooo!

Same printer as Wilbur Whately's copy of the Necronomicon (and Champions 4th edition), apparently.

[Looks both ways. Opens trench coat.] Pssssst! I've got a scenario prepared. You bring the cash?

We've had this discussion before, too. Much as I appreciate durable hardcovers and gorgeous all-color art, "better quality" doesn't help me if I can't afford the product. Better a softcover with sparse black-and-white line art held together with staples that I can actually purchase, play, and learn to love. Melee/Wizard, Champions, Classic Traveller, Toon -- all the games that established me in the hobby were that way. I upgraded to fancier editions only after becoming an established player and GM. If I'd had to begin with $40+ manuals instead of $6-20 microgames I would have taken up skateboarding or something instead. By the way, all of my "low-quality" '80s games are intact and in good condition, just in case you wanted to get together and play sometme. 😉

Thanks for posting the interview. I would be interested in learning how the cultural changes in Sweden are affecting gaming and role-playing.

We've had previous similar discussions, particularly after Chinese officials confiscated and destroyed all copies of a third-party supplement because they objected to something in its content. (Or maybe they were just 5e fans.). It is insane for any business in what used to be the Free World to place its fate and profitability in the cruel claws of a ruthless, hostile foreign dictatorship. It isn't cost-effective if they can shut you down on a whim. And breaking into the Chinese market isn't worth it since officials not only attempt to censor your IP but have demonstrated a tendency to steal it outright.

It is officially Super Tuesday in the United States. Any updates on the BRP Superworld and Mythras superheroes projects?

Bear in mind that your natural mammalian covering will give you +2 AP vs. kinetic attacks by any furies you might encounter on these discussion boards, and your claws will increase your hand-to-hand damage by +1or 2. Other advantages or disabilities will vary by exact species. Good hunting! 😉

You don't "pay" your hard-working GM by chipping in for pizza and soft drinks? Tut, tut! 😉

No, no! Don't finish the monster, or attempt to assemble a mate for it! Let it rot on its slab in that remote wind-swept cabin while you flee back to civilization to regain what is left of your sanity and humanity. Think of all the innocent lives you will save. 😳

Understandable. Australia is largely desert, not conducive to the growth of mushrooms. While I enjoy them, I eat only domestic varieties. Even experts occasionally die from eating the wrong wild-picked fungus. It is sometimes hard to tell the good stuff from deadly toadstools. Does your setting have the equivalent of truffles, and the nosey beasts needed to hunt them down? Our ancestors must have been brave, or starving, to figure out what was edible and what wasn't.

So, Storm Bull cultists automatically head to the nearest Walmart? 🤨

Does he still sound like Sterling Holloway?

Definitely a lunar phenomenon. Even politicians recognize that criticizing Rolemaster would lead to a Critical Fumble. 😉

The [REDACTED] of this [CONTENT HIDDEN] eludes me, but in general I think [CLICK LINK TO REVEAL COMMENT]. Or you could simply conceal the cover and title of your commercially produced, decades old, long forgotten and generally unavailable except at outrageous Amazon.com prices adventure behind a GM screen, preferably for a game system other than the one you are actually running, change the names of major NPCs, and be done with it. I tend to steal bits and characters shamelessly from scenarios written for other RPGs or from books, comics, movies, TV and radio shows. My players never need know that Lord High Whatshisname in my D6 Star Wars one-shot began his existence as a Bond villain or Power Rangers henchman. YMMV. Your players, for instance, may wonder why the clan chieftain or sinister high priestess they're up against feels compelled to scream "Coooooobraaaaa!!!" at the top of his or her lungs when charging into battle. They don't need to know, and knowing is half the battle. 😉

I don't care if we do have nuclear power and halogen lamps. I'm STILL afraid of the dark!

I would have figured they'd be useful for faster getaways. Or to discourage would-be assailants. In space no one can hear you poot!

Fun, fun, fun. I presume the sinister Professor Fez was secretly a cult leader, joining the ranks of the investigators in order to mislead them. Any (nonhuman) monsters in costume?

Are Annette and Frankie still available? "The Shoggoth In the Invisible Bikini."

Recently major news outlets announced that temperatures in Antarctica had hit 65 F. "It's melting! What a world, what a world!" https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-65-sixty-five-degree-antarctica-record-high-20200207-zm6jxtpofjgtvmp7itwkuibvqe-story.html%3foutputType=amp However, a two-week forecast says the hottest temperature this fortnight will be a scorching -18 F. https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/antarctica/south-pole/ext What's going on? Well, the 65 F hot spot isn't at the south pole. It's on a peninsula that veers far north (relatively) from the frozen continent. And if you read down to the bottom of the Daily News article, the area has drifted into the 60s before and the usual temperature variation is from -140 F to 50 F -- less than 65 but still well above freezing. But let's say the continent really was thawing out. The Elder Things and their rebellious shoggoth former servants are unlocked from the ice and making tea ("Earl Grey! Hot!") with all that liquid fresh water. We can assume that other ancient critters have revived as well. What happens next? Can the investigators do anything about it? Despite the warm-up it is still chilly, extremely isolated, and dark eight or nine months out of the year. Bring lots of ramen packets. Oh, and it is muddy. Really, really muddy.

I, too, like Questbird's guidelines. They're simple but place generalized realistic limits on carrying capacity. Usually I prefer not to mess with encumbrance as a GM. On the other hand, you don't want a PC to run around with a fully stocked refrigerator on his back even in a superhero game.

Don't let 'em put you down. Like you, I've only ever heard the name in connection with "Wrinkle." Why wouldn't we assume it was made up? Especially since there were no bat or Maya associations or themes in the novel. Are "Mongo," "Barsoom" and " Alderan" stealthily snatched from some obscure Sumerian pantheon? Race for your preferred internet browser ... now!

Hmmm, the ice wouldn't necessarily have to be water. If the environment is hostile and/or exotic anyway, it might be gasoline or some other useful but volatile substance.