Wednesday, September 27, 2017

*Sigh* One more Drop-In delay.

SYSTEM: ICONS

Once again, I won't be running tonight. Not because I feel awful (I've improved to just bad), but because feeling awful left me with all sorts of work to catch up on, so that's what I'll be doing.

Gah.

John

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Hmmmm.

Apparently I am so anaemic that it was necessary to start me on three times the normal iron supplement Right Now.

Well, I wonder what good effects will come of fixing this problem?

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Gender neutral first names

Yanked from a baby name site, some gender-neutral names for when I need them.

Icons DROP-IN Cancelled again this week

SYSTEM: ICONS

Because this bug has been resistant to the first two antibiotics and I am about to start the third. I am in no better shape than I was last week, or the Saturday before that. Sorry.

In other news, Steve Kenson confirms that you don't need Shrinking or Growth to change into an animal of that size. That is, if you decide to change into a queen bee with your Transformation (Animals) you have, like, Flight 3 and maybe Super-senses 2, and possibly an Affliction. You don't need enough Transformation to get the appropriate shrinking for that small (what is that, Shrinking 8 or 9?). If you wanted to be a giant housefly, sure, you'd need Growth, or a teacup elephant, you'd need Shrinking, but to be a regular housefly, Transformation 3 will do. A regular elephant, you probably want Transformation 7 because an elephant is strong...but you don't need it for the growth part of it.

So as of Judas Contract (the original comics), Gar Logan probably looked something like:

Garfield Logan (Changeling/Beast Boy)
PROCRDSTRINTAWRWILStaminaDeterm.
34245464
SpecialtiesNone, really.
Powers
  • Transformation (Animals) 7
    • Extra: Instant (no page prep needed)
    • Extra: Growth (because sometimes he becomes a giant snake)
    • Limit: Tell (always green)
Qualities
  • Heir to Steve Dayton & Rita Farr fortunes
  • Emotionally needy but only knows how to relate by being quippy...doesn't feel he's worthy
  • Connections and enemies from Doom Patrol days

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

ICONS Drop-In CANCELLED this week

SYSTEM: ICONS

I'm sorry, folks, but I have a sinus infection. I've started on antibiotics but it's not enough yet.

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

A quick Swamp Thing

SYSTEM: ICONS

Here's a quick Swamp Thing that might be useful to people. Though Plant Control seemed like an obvious power, I made the power Magic with the Extra No Performance, and plants are the theme. This is Swampy after Moore is done with him, so he's grotesquely powerful.

Swamp Thing
PROCRDSTRINTAWRWILSTAMINADeterm.
427465121
Specialties Occult (+1)
Powers
Plant Control (Magic)10
 Extra: No Performance 
 Known Spell: Knows things through the Green (Detection, Magic)10
Immortality5
Alternate form: Plant body (fluid form) 5
Qualities
Plant Elemental (Responsible to the Green)
He's a Plant
Relationship with Abby and Tefe

Various powers, like teleportation, are stunts off the Magic.

Yes, there will be an ICONS Drop-In on Wednesday

SYSTEM: ICONS

In honour of Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, I will see if I can get something swampy in the adventure. Or, I suppose, something Wolverine-y.

Monday, September 11, 2017

Manslaughter Redux

SYSTEM: ICONS

Years and years ago, in a Champions campaign, I had an homage to the Joker, and what I intended was that he had the pweor to come back from the dead, but that every time he did so, he would have a new power. Kill him once, one new power. Kill him again, another new power. And so on... To keep him from gaining new powers, the players would have to keep him alive.

(Of course, that wouldn't stop him from killing himself to get new powers...)

I don't recall that I ever had him come back...I think that campaign folded before it happened. (And the usual reason for my campaigns folding is that I had spotted a logical inconsistency in something I had just tossed off, and I had no answer. So I would put off doing another adventure because I just had to figure it out, dammit, and the campaign would wither as we went on to something else. See "Alderson Disk Campaign.")

But I thought of him this weekend when I was thinking of recurring villains in superhero campaigns. I don't have the notes from that campaign any more (there was a purge: I don't have the notes from much anything any more), but I figured I could re-create him in ICONS.

I was just going to do the "extra power per death" thing by GM fiat, but I'm also big on the "provide a game mechanical way that's legal" thing for GM characters as well as for player characters. So I thought about it and there's one attached. You don't have to use it, of course.

Manslaughter
PROCRDSTRINTAWRWILSTAMINA
55554712
Specialties: Athletics (+1), Technology Expert (+2)
Powers
Affliction (Lethal)6
Immortality5
Extras: Side Effect Magic, no roll5
Limits: No control over new power5
Gadgets4
Qualities
We're all crazy, but I know it
Nice to henchmen
Resilient and adaptable

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Len Wein

I'm seeing as-yet-unconfirmed reports that Len Wein has passed away.

Dammit.

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Why supers travel in groups

SYSTEM: Any

This was inspired by a comment in this week's Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff.

Suppose that superpowers are somehow psychic, and the higher the concentration of superpowered people, the more powerful they are. So the Hulk is strong when he's all alone in New Mexico, but he's really strong—maybe the strongest one there is!—when he's near three other supers. It doesn't matter if they're good guys or bad guys; Superman is strength 8 when he's fighting Lex Luthor, but he's strength 10 when he faces four Kryptonians. (They, on the other hand, are already at maximum strength when he shows up, so they don't get any stronger.)

So, you know, supers would travel in groups.

I'm not sure how you'd model that mechanically in ICONS or M&M But it'd be easy in MHR.