What are y'all up to these days?

[spittingimage]

Let's not start the Mullet Wars.

"That's the kind of attitude I would expect from a filthy mullet sympathiser. Check him, men."
"Sir... he's bald."
"Do I have to do your thinking for you? Strip him and check his other head."

 

[Raleel]

Pandemics and not running a game has me with an excess of creative energies. I've done four of these little character generation briefs for my players when we finally get to a new campaign - the 1980s central american drug wars one i think I mentioned, a wild west one, a lizardman savages, and a norse explorers one. The latter two are designed to land on monster island

 

[Certified]

Metahuman News
"Into each life some rain must fall, but too much, too much is fallin' in mine."
In this adventure seed, we have a little bit of fun with the old phrase about April Shower. April Showers turns disaster example from the core book into a one shot adventure where you can both as the Brood and as heroes.

April Showers - House Dok Productions

Suitable Campaign Age: Any Adventure Tone: Action Recommended Power Level: Low or Classic Overview The Brood are back and after raiding an IMR (Institute for Metahuman Research) lab have acquired a power amplifier that Mock is looking to exploit. Unfortunately, Rampage has his own ideas on...

housedok.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HouseDokPro

Website: http://housedok.com/

Print: https://studio2publishing.com/products/metahumans-rising?_pos=2&_sid=145b3fa95&_ss=r\

PDF: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/277614/Metahumans-Rising

#Metahumans #MetahumansRising #Superheroes #RPG #TTRPG

 

[Bunch]

I changed my Avatar image. What's it from?

 

[Jetstream]

I changed my Avatar image. What's it from?

Car Wars Pocket Box Kickstarter Unboxed

About a year ago, I pitched in on a Kickstarter that was near and dear to my heart… the reprint of a vast library of early-80’s games from Steve Jackson Games. Many of these games came …

www.patricklipo.com

Car Wars pocket box. Or maybe whatever thing came before that. But that image is there.

 

[Bunch]

Car Wars Pocket Box Kickstarter Unboxed

About a year ago, I pitched in on a Kickstarter that was near and dear to my heart… the reprint of a vast library of early-80’s games from Steve Jackson Games. Many of these games came …

www.patricklipo.com

Car Wars pocket box. Or maybe whatever thing came before that. But that image is there.

Close. Not where I got it but you're in the right area

 

[Raleel]

I changed my Avatar image. What's it from?

not allowed. I will wonder who the new person is.

 

[E-Rocker]

Finally got around to writing up the 3 most recent HEPCATS episodes. It took way longer than I expected, but I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment, so no big deal, really.

HEPCATS: Season Two:: The Online Era::: Savagely HEP!

Episode 9: Shooting Cans and Cowboys

15th November, Rhino Year
Real-life date: 2nd April 2020. First online session.

Zera, N0-5R, and Little Bobby ride the train from Samson’s Crossing to Jericho, where they take a very disappointing walking tour. The train gets loaded with gold. They ride the train back to Samson’s Crossing, where they pick up the Sheriff, and continue riding the train towards Saguaro City. On the outskirts of the city, the train comes to an unexpected stop and two bandits board the train attempting to steal the gold and the passengers' valuables. N0-5R and Zera quickly stop the bandits with the medicine stick and a thrown bench. [Maybe Bobby helped? I don’t remember.]

Meanwhile, the rest of the team has arrived back in Saguaro City.

Evelyn Audrey sees them return and tells Dr. A [Ayu] that she was disappointed Dr. A didn’t bring her onstage during the show. Ayu invites Evelyn to come by wagon for a meal later.

The team avoids a stampede that rages down main street, and learns that stampedes are, somewhat oddly, a semi-regular occurrence around here.

Bonita Juarez arrives in town, making quite an entrance. She pickpockets the gold-plated revolver from Kurt and asks his intentions re: the gun. Since Kurt says that the plan is to return it to its rightful owner, Bonita decides everything is cool and gives it back.

The HEPCATS have a team meeting. They’re all on the same page regarding giving Evelyn’s inheritance to her, but some of the team still feel they should become a political power to deal with local issues such as regular stampedes and missing postmasters, while others are skeptical.

Evelyn arrives. She and Ayu proceed to have the world’s most awkward date/political strategy session/ delivery of inheritance. Evelyn is happy to have her grandfather’s things, except the burned piece of paper saying “..preempt if we take our demons…” She says that’s weird and she doesn’t want it. She also points out that the seven names on the list were the seven members of her grandpa Evil Al’s gang. She’s not sure how many of them are still alive.

Evelyn is a bit puzzled by all the political talk, and asks “Are we on a date?” Ayu confirms that, yes, it is a date, but also confides that she’s never been on a date before. “So that’s why it’s so awkward,” Evelyn says.

Meanwhile, Zera, N0-5R, Little Bobby, and the Sheriff arrive back in town. Zera and N0-5R introduce the others to their new son. Little Bobby is unclear on how long they intend to be his parents, which parent is Mom, and which parent is Dad. To be fair, N0-5R also seems unclear on these points. Zera is at least confident of the point that she’s the Dad.

Zera hears there’s food, so she crashes Ayu and Evelyn’s date, making it even more awkward.
Sargoth Trio, wanting to be the “cool uncle,” takes Little Bobby to the alley to shoot cans. Others tag along. Bobby continues to have surprisingly good marksmanship and gun-handling skills for a nine-year-old orphan-urchin.

The team sees a dangerous posse ride into town, and recognizes them as the Ames-Krueger gang, whom they know seek Evelyn’s treasure.

Sargoth asks Little Bobby if he wants to try shooting a moving target, and Little Bobby kills one of the bandits with one shot.

Baron probably lassoed a bandit.

Zera takes Evelyn and her treasure back to Evelyn’s residence, and then joins the fight in the alley. A brief gun battle ensues, rapidly ending the lives of the whole group of bandits.

To be continued…

XP: 3
Present: Ayu, Baron von Braun, N0-5R, Kurt Warlock, Sargoth Trio, Zera


HEPCATS Episode 10, Part One: It’s Okay, He’s Nine!

15th-16th November, Rhino Year
Real Life Date 9th April 2020. Second online session.

Deputy Dingus, pushing Sheriff Stevenson in a wheelbarrow, arrives at the scene of the shootout. After interviewing the HEPCATS, Sheriff Stevenson states “Murder is illegal in these parts, but these are known outlaws known for having bad intentions, so clearly this was a case of self-defense, right?” Pierre nearly manages to talk the team back into the legal troubles they just got out of, but it turns out okay. The team takes the horses.

Meanwhile Little Bobby wanders off and gets into a trick-shooting contest with Bonita Juarez. Pierre finds them and teaches them about the game of H-O-R-S-E as it applies to trick-shooting.

The team proceeds to the 4L Saloon for supper. At first the doorman doesn’t want to let Little Bobby in, thinking that he’s eight-or-less years old and unsupervised. When he learns that Little Bobby is both nine years old AND with his parents, he says that not only is the kid allowed in, he gets a free half-shot of whiskey. The team and Little Bobby find a table, chat with the saloon girl, and order some food and drinks. Some local ruffians are about to harass the saloon girl when Pierre intervenes, buying the local specialty cocktail that is served in a tin cup with a rattlesnake tail in it for them.

Pierre asks what’s upstairs, and the saloon girl tells them it’s “Lady Larissa’s Lounges of Luxury, with rooms by the hour, half hour, and quarter hour.” Pierre, wishing to usurp “cool uncle” status from Sargoth, attempts to order “One luxury for the kid!” but the saloon girl says she just works in the saloon and he would have to take it up with Lady Larissa.

Supper is eaten, several bar brawls are narrowly avoided, and the team returns to their wagon.

The next morning, they debate what to do with Little Bobby. Some want to bring him back to HEPCATS HQ, but others point out that they don’t know if he has the ability to cross from Shard to Shard like they do, and attempting to bring him across the line could cause him great physical pain and mental distress. Ultimately, they decide to ask Little Bobby what he wants. He says he’s kind of tired of going to new places, and that “Miss Evelyn seemed real nice, and so did that lady with the guns.”

Melvin the Mission Auditor from the HEPCATS organization shows up to assess how Team Minus One’s mission is going. After hearing the details, Melvin, who has the authority to speak on behalf of the HEPCATS organization, determines that the current threat to Evelyn Audrey has been eliminated with the elimination of the Ames-Krueger gang, and Team Minus One should return to HQ at their earliest convenience.

Melvin begins to ride away while Pierre continues to hash out a strategy to become mayor. Melvin overhears this and pops his head back in to announce “Establishing local governments is outside the scope of your current mission. Please return to HQ at your earliest convenience.”

Zera and N0-5R take Little Bobby to Evelyn Audrey to ask if she is willing to be Little Bobby’s adoptive Mom. Evelyn is much more okay with this plan than one might expect, considering she woke up that morning with no thoughts of parenthood.

Evelyn: “Since I’m only 13 years older than him, could I maybe be his adoptive big sister instead of his mom?”
Zera: “No.”

So Evelyn agrees to be Little Bobby’s mom, and Little Bobby is happy to stay with her. N0-5R is very sad to leave Little Bobby. Evelyn is sad that Ayu didn’t come to say goodbye.

The team rides their wagon back to the gate that will return them to the Central Heptagon. It goes much faster than their original trip, since they started out with one mule pulling the wagon, and now have sixteen beasts of burden pulling it. In fact, they go so fast that the wagon is perpetually on the verge of falling apart throughout the trip, but Baron keeps it together with his McGuyver skills. Just as they arrive at the gate, the wagon completely falls apart.



Episode 10, part 2: Hey It’s Good to Be Back Home Again

Back at base, the team is debriefed by Agent Zee, which is quick and painless since they’d largely already been through it with Melvin the Mission Auditor. Agent Zee tells them that tonight is the Promotions & Awards Ceremony, and they should go see Jenny in costuming to get fitted for dress blues.

At the ceremony, they learn that Team Zero has been tragically lost. Each member of Team Minus One receives an award or two, and then Team Minus One is collectively promoted to be the new Team Zero. Team Minus Two is pointedly not promoted to be the new Team Minus One.

Private Dim announces that there are a variety of recreational activities planned for the evening, including the ever-popular Agent-Throwing Contest, in which teams of two agents take turns throwing each other and try to get a better average distance than the other teams; a concert featuring the metal bands Torchhammer and Protomartyr; and a dance after the concert, where DJ-Q2 will be spinning sick beats.

The team mills about with some of the other teams. They gather that there are other android and robot agents besides Ayu and N0-5R, there are ten werewolf agents, ten percent of the organization is of Cuban descent, and the prior Team Zero was rumored to have been dispatched to the Seventh Shard, nicknamed Abyssia, on the mission from which they did not return.

Baron chats with Agent Franceska, who is a ghost and, like Baron, is originally from Les Rues Sanglantes.

DJ-Q2 invites N0-5R to join him for a beverage later.

Ayu and Zera enter the Agent-Throwing contest. Since many HEPCATS agents have special abilities, the rulebook is extensive; however, anything not specifically forbidden by the rulebook is allowed, so Ayu and Zera find creative ways to use their abilities to their advantage.

At the concert, Torchhammer announces that, although they are well-known as a metal band, they actually started out in the punk scene, playing hardcore punk and then moving to crossover thrash, before they went full metal and broke through. Torchhammer wanted to give back to some guys who were like big brothers to them back in their punk days, and introduce their special guests, Trippin’ Balls on Cactus Mist!

Trippin’ Balls on Cactus Mist rip through a quick set of raucous punk. Trippin’ Balls on Cactus Mist is both their band name and their state of being.

Torchhammer takes the stage. They are very talented, but eventually their slow doom metal beats are kind of dragging down the party vibe. While Torchhammer tears down and Protomartyr sets up, DJ-Q2 gets on the 1s & 2s and spins some upbeat tunes to bring the party back up.

Protomartyr goes on and plays a solid set of Iron Maiden-esque classic-style metal. At the bridge section of the climax of their big hit, the lights go out. This is standard procedure for a Protomartyr concert, but then the lights don’t come back on….

To be continued…

XP: 2
Present: Ayu, Kurt Warlock, Baron von Braun, N0-5R, Pierre Delecto, Zera






Episode 11: That’s SOOOO Metal!
16th November, Rhino Year
Real-life date: 16th April 2020. Third online session.

Zera and Ayu make it to the finals of the Agent-Throwing Contest from their side of the bracket. On the other side, the semi-finals are between the team of Russell and Tom vs. the team of Cody and Dustin. Russell and Tom advance. It’s a close contest, but Zera and Ayu just barely beat Russell and Tom.

At the concert, the lights have gone out and stayed out far longer than was dramatically appropriate for a stage trick. A random agent points out this shouldn’t be happening because, “our backup generators have backup generators!”

Once some illumination is achieved, folks can see that the room is being attacked by large metal insects who are eating metal and sucking electricity. Sgt. Masterson starts shouting orders to the various teams and tasks Zera, Pierre, Baron, and N0-5R with escorting Agent Shoe to his lab and bringing back “something that will help.” DJ-Q2 tags along.

Team Zero decides to take a shortcut through the Danger Room, where they encounter a small but hostile group of metal begs. The team feels the bugs are attempting to taunt them with bleeps, bloops, and electrical shocks, but they remain un-taunted. [I actually remembered to use the Test rules! Yay! … for one round, anyway, haha].

Baron lassoes a bug. The team makes short work of the bugs, while DJ-Q2 beatboxes. Zera eats one of the bugs, which gives her a stomachache. N0-5R leads the way across the heavily damaged room with his free-running skills. As the team leaves the room, they see that the bugs are beginning to reassemble themselves.

The team makes it through the secret passages and down the firepole to Agent Shoe’s lab. Baron grabs a whip with a metal flyswatter on the end. N0-5R grabs a magnet gun. Pierre grabs a hologram projector. Zera grabs a punch-in-the-box. Agent Shoe grabs something he doesn’t explain.

[I let the players make up what they found, with the conditions that it had to resemble something from the goofier James Bond movies, and could not be an instant-win button for the scenario.]

They make it back to the concert hall and see that the battle is largely a stalemate between the various HEPCATS teams and the hordes of metal bugs, since the bugs keep reassembling themselves after being dispatched. The members of Torchhammer and Protomartyr are nowhere to be found, but the punks from Trippin’ Balls on Cactus Mist are in the thick of it, swinging chains and brass knuckles and stomping bugs with combat boots.

Many of the bugs join together into one giant bug. Baron, unsure of how sentient these bugs are, is hesitant to use violence, but decides its okay, and hits the giant bug in the heart with his flyswatter-on-a-whip, which immediately deactivates it. Meanwhile, Agent Shoe has combined the magnet gun, hologram projector, and his unexplained item into a device that sends out an anti-magnet wave which prevents the bugs from reassembling.

Sgt. Masterson orders Team Minus Two to grab some brooms and dustpans and clean up this mess, and announces that with the threat ended, the party will recommence shortly.

Pierre notices someone sneaking out of the building with what appears to be the genealogy book of Clan Dracula that the team had previously acquired. No one is able to stop the sneaker.

DJ-Q2 still wants N0-5R to join him for a beverage.

Team Zero collectively points out that perhaps the HEPCATS organization would be better off figuring out who was behind this attack, rather than continuing to party…

To be continued...
XP: 2
Present: Zera, Pierre, Baron, N0-56

 

[Vargold]

So I'm not saying that I'm going to stop letting PCs roll 4d6 drop lowest or giving them max HP at first level ...

... but I played Old School Essentials tonight (the first time I've done B/X since the 1980s), and there was something fun about worrying about what was around the next corner and what it might do to my 4 hp ...

... especially after 2 giant scorpions harryhausened 2 of the party's fighters in one combat.

 

[Bunch]

So I'm not saying that I'm going to stop letting PCs roll 4d6 drop lowest or giving them max HP at first level ...

... but I played Old School Essentials tonight (the first time I've done B/X since the 1980s), and there was something fun about worrying about what was around the next corner and what it might do to my 4 hp ...

... especially after 2 giant scorpions harryhausened 2 of the party's fighters in one combat.

I have a fighter with 1hp. Somehow that Bastard made it to second level with the luck of the gods. He became a real hero as time went on. Kinda wish I hadn't use d26 to generate his name....

 

[E-Rocker]

Since the HEPCATS have decided their priority is to solve the mystery of who was behind the attack, I guess I should figure out what the solution is sometime prior to tomorrow night's game.

Continuing playing Curse of Strahd tonight. I don't love it, but it is enjoyable enough to continue, anyway. Being on Google Hangouts playing D&D is definitely more enjoyable than just being home alone.

 

[E-Rocker]

HEPCATS Episode 12: Erasing the Dark Mark
16th November, Rhino Year
Real life date 23rd April, 2020. 4th online session.

Ayu, Kurt Warlock, and Sargoth Trio go grab some items from Agent Shoe’s lab. Ayu gets a hook-shot, Kurt gets electrified brass knuckles, and Sargoth gets a laser watch. They arrive on the scene.

Team Zero points out that figuring out who was behind the attack should be a higher priority than resuming the celebration. Master Sgt. Masterson reluctantly agrees and tells them to get on that.

Most of the team investigates, while N0-5R joins DJ-Q2 for a beverage. N0-5R is nervous about it, so Ayu and Zera offer to meet up with N0-5R & DJ-Q2 later.

The team determines that the large robotic metal-eating, electricity-sucking bugs came from the stage area, which collapsed into a big pile of debris during the attack. They see the members of Protomartyr (Devin Shack, Torbjorn Ulafson, Richie Petrucci, Samantha “Sam” Larson, and Ben Banks) and Torchhammer (Iron Zeke, Matthew “yes this is my real name” Mountain, and Slim) emerge from the rubble, dazed and confused, but largely unhurt. Sam’s awesome leather rockstar pants got ripped in the stage collapse (“and not in the cool way!”) and she is rather upset about it.

Baron figures out the bugs were triggered by a device and works on finding its location. Baron and Ayu determine that the type of technology used in the bugs came from Speedchrome City (the cyberpunk shard).

The members of Trippin’ Balls on Cactus Mist (Gravel Greg, Stompy, Russell Rubbish, and Vern), having been in the thick of the fight, are easily located. Three of them seem fine, but the drummer, Stompy, is sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth repeating “bad cactus, bad cactus” over and over.

Sargoth notices the roadie, Half-Shack Jack, standing nervously near the stage area. Sargoth grabs a couple of beers and heads over to shoot the shit with Half-Shack. Half-Shack seems nervous and standoffish, but also happy to be the center of attention. Zera and Kurt join the conversation. Zera is very blunt.

Sargoth notices the elaborate demonic face tattooed on the back of Half-Shack’s right hand and asks about it. Half-Shack says that he often hangs out at the Blacker than Death Coffee Shop, where he met a guy named Dark Mark, who is rumored to be from St. Bronze’s Quarter (the pulp shard). Half-Shack and Dark Mark get along really well because not only do they like the same metal bands, they also like the same blues, Son House in particular. Dark Mark is an artist who drew an awesome demonic-face picture.

Half-Shack had asked if he could get that picture as a tattoo. Dark Mark said, “since it’s my original work, you can get it as a tattoo as long as you give me some compensation.”

When asked what sort of compensation he provided, Half-Shack avoids directly answering the question, rambling about how “it was just supposed to be a visual spectacle, man,” and talks about how he thought it would be such a great visual spectacle that it would inspire a concept album from his own band. His own band, Nature of Affliction, is largely theoretical, consistently mainly of himself, his guitar, and some random song lines and logos drawn in a notebook. He mentions in passing that Devin Shack from Protomartyr is his half-brother.

Zera presses the matter and Half-Shack admits that he compensated Dark Mark by agreeing to put a device in the back of his half-brother’s amp & turn it on during the portion of Protomartyr’s show when they turn the lights out. He continues to insist that he was just told it would create a visual spectacle and had no foreknowledge of an attack. Zera doesn’t understand how creating a visual spectacle at a concert Dark Mark can’t attend does Dark Mark a favor.

Around the same time, the device that Baron McGuyvered to locate the source of control for the bugs leads him to the same amp that Half-Shack is presently admitting he placed a device in. It’s a very nice Peavey 5150 amp that survived the stage collapse.

Meanwhile, N0-5R is asking DJ-Q2 what he knows about the bands. He says that although he’s not really into metal himself, some of the HEPCATS officers are really into it and requested metal bands for the celebration, so DJ-Q2 booked the best metal bands around: Protomartyr and Torchhammer. He had no idea that Torchhammer was going to bring Trippin’ Balls on Cactus Mist with them. N0-5R & DJ-Q2 discuss various cactus-based substances, such as the cactus juice near Saguaro City which caused hallucinations in N0-5R, which is rather odd considering that N0-5R is an android.

The team, using science and smarts, determines that the device in the amp is tied to a signal from a larger device, currently located outside the northwest corner of HEPCATS headquarters. The team briskly heads that direction. Zera and Ayu stop to check if N0-5R wants to join, but N0-5R wants to stay with DJ-Q2.

A few members of HEPCATS Team 4 cheer Team Zero on as Team Zero heads out the exit. N0-5R and DJ-Q2’s spontaneous date continues. It’s slightly less awkward than Ayu and Evelyn’s date was. They chat about music and missions. DJ-Q2 admits to wishing he was a field agent like N0-5R is.

Baron’s contraption determines that the larger device is on top of the 5-story building across the street. Baron gets to the roof acrobatically, Ayu gets there with her hookshot, Zera gets there by flying, and Sargoth takes the elevator. Baron, Ayu, and Zera stay largely concealed, just peeking over the top of the ledge to see what’s going on. Meanwhile, Kurt ascends to the roof of the 2-story building across the street via the fire escape.

Four men stand on the rooftop: a man in a trenchcoat decorated with the same art as Half-Shack’s tattoo, holding a large metal sphere with two joysticks; a man in an expensive suit with greased back hair and gold necklaces; an agitated metalhead thug; and a chill metalhead thug.

Sargoth ventures out onto the roof and does a surprisingly convincing impersonation of a cell-tower repairman.

Trenchcoat Guy is agitated that the device is no longer working, and is yelling and banging on it. Suit Guy is saying it doesn’t matter because they’ve already accomplished their primary objective. Sargoth notices the demonic face art on the back of Trenchcoat Guy beginning to come off the jacket and come to life, and does his best to signal the team, who are a little slow to catch on.

The art transforms into a full, 8-foot tall, smoky, oily, yet semi-solid demon-creature with a cattle- skull head, spindly arms ending in claws, and a lower half that seems to be made up of smoke. The four men on the roof transform into smaller, weaker, far-less-cool-looking creatures of a similar nature.

The guys from Team 4 hear the commotion and head outside, tossing a rifle to Kurt on the second-story roof. N0-5R also hears the commotion, and reluctantly excuses himself from DJ-Q2, whom he “accidentally” calls “QT” while saying goodbye and mentioning that he likes funk and techno. N0-5R grabs a large stick from the stage debris and heads out.

Two of the semi-finalists from the Agent Throwing Competition, Cody and Dustin, are nearby, and manage to throw N0-5R all the way to the roof. Kurt Warlock borrows a hookshot from Team 4 and uses it to ascend to the roof. [Kurt's player played an adventure card that allowed him to find a useful device]

The lesser demons try to attack, but are really bad at it. The big demon is quite mouthy and seems like he’s more interested in taunting, mocking, and belittling the team, rather than actually fighting them.

The team makes short work of the lesser demons, one of whom accidentally lets them know that taking out their big boss does not require cold iron or holy water or any such shenanigans, just “a fuckton of damage.” [N0-5R's player played an adventure card that allowed her to get a clue from the GM]

Baron somehow manages to get the lesser demons on Team Zero’s side, but they still suck at fighting. [He played an Adventure Card that lets the PCs gain reinforcements]

The big demon fights a bit, but mostly talks. He’s quite excited that he has a chance to go on a Master Plan Monologue, “because, usually, either the plan has already worked, or you just get shot in the head as soon as you start talking.”

He is The Dark Mark (not Dark Mark the person), and on his own he’s a Malevolent Force that doesn’t bother with plans, but he goes ahead and spills the beans on the plans of the human he was possessing: the human had been tasked by Kingpin Clive, a major crime lord in St. Bronze’s Quarter (the pulp shard), to create a distraction during the HEPCATS celebration, so that another associate of Kingpin Clive’s could break into HEPCATS HQ and steal the Clan Dracula genealogy book. [Sargoth's player played the "Villainous Verbosity" Adventure Card, which causes the bad guy to lose his next action by gloating about his plans. I had a great time improvising this speech. Wish I remember exactly what I had said, haha].

The team continues to damage The Dark Mark, including Ayu shooting her hookshot through him & then propelling herself through him while wielding a sword. Zera hits The Dark Mark with a massive burst of rainbow energy, and The Dark Mark transforms from a giant, smoky, oily monster to wisps of white smoke that rapidly fade away. The lesser demons abandon the humans they were possessing, who are now unconscious.

Team 4 points out that it would be a good idea to take these guys captive, so Team Zero and Team 4 do so, and head back inside HEPCATS HQ.

Will Sargoth ever get an award like the rest of his teammates did???

Will 16th November, Rhino Year ever end?

[Spoiler: Yes. Yes it will. With everything HEPCATS Team Zero has done today, it must be midnight-ish by now]

What will HEPCATS Team Zero’s next mission be???

And the question that’s burning in everyone’s minds: Did Sam ever get her pants fixed???

Tune in next time to find out!!!

XP: 3

Bringing totals to:
N0-5R: 40- levels up & gains Veteran rank
Baron von Braun: 36- levels up
Ayu: 35- levels up
Zera: 30- levels up
Kurt Warlock: 23
Sargoth: 18
Pierre- absent- stays at 18

 

[E-Rocker]

I feel really good about how last night's session went. Everyone, myself included, had fun, every PC got a moment to shine, I remembered to actually play the bad guy's personality rather than having him just be a ball of abilities, I remembered some rules stuff that I usually forget, and it only ran a little long- 3.5-ish hours rather than the scheduled 3 hours. Hope I can pull it off again next week!

 

[urbwar]

The second session of Astounding Space Adventures for Supers! Revised was a great time.

The Cast:
Reginald Whitaker, aka Reggie. A former steel worker, Reggie retired and took tech classes, unlocking his hyper intelligence. He uses various gadgets and flies around in a giant ship that resembles a recliner

Cretaceous Corp Agent 86: Hailing from an alternate Earth where dinosaurs evolved into a more humanoid form, Agent 86 was one of many chosen to wield a power ring made from a meteor that had crashed on his world, enabling the bearer to do wondrous things

Guest Star:
Inferno: Member of an unknown alien species, this alien controls fire (even in space!). She is tempermental, and considers herself a sort of intergalactic celebrity.

While Man-Spider and Solar Flare are off
doing other things, Reggie and Agent 86 decide to explore some of the uncharted systems in the Badlands. Upon entering one system, they find themselves under attack by a group of 4 Mazon space fighters. 86, taking a cue from Star Trek, traps one of the fighters in a web of energy. The others launch missles and slightly damage Reggie's star recliner, but he damages one in turn with his laser weapon.

Inferno is flying through space nearby, and spots the battle. She flys closer, and tries to determine who is the aggressor in the fight. 86 clobbers another fighter by creating a giant boxing glove with his ring, while Reggie damages another one. Inferno decides to intervene, and aids Reggie and 86. The Mazon try to flee, but Inferno destroys two of the fighers before they can jump to light speed.

After short introductions, the heroes decided to land on a local planet so Reggie can repair his ship. They find a habitable planet to land on, and discover a small complex. Landing nearby, they learn the complex is a research facility for a group of Yithians who have travelled forward in time to conduct research. One of the Yithians speaks to them mentally, and introduces itself as #4. The Yithians offer to help fix the recliner, and another Yithian, #2, begins repairs.

#4 gives them a tour of their facilities, and offers them some of their food. He also gives Reggie some Earth canabis they grew on the planet, which makes him very happy! Before he can try the herb, #4 and the other Yithians become agitated. Something is heading their way. They go outside, and see what appears to be a massive swarm of insects heading their way. Inferno tries to block the swarm with flames; some are burned when they fly into it, but the swarm is large enough to fly around her barrier. The heroes see the insects (which resemble alien mosquitos) attacking the Yithians, including #2! Inferno is able to burn the ones attacking #2 without harming him, and the Swarm seemingly retreats.

Checking on #2, they see it is seeping a form of sap (as Yithian bodies are plant based). Reggie has #2 sit in his recliner, as it has a regeneration function. While studying its injuries, #4 notices some kind of poison in #2 that would cause it to eventually decompose. Further tests show that the poison works faster if all the sap were drained from a Yithian's body. They also examine the remains of one of the insects, and determine that they are genetically engineered, using DNA from Earth mosquitos and at least 5 alien insects.

Realizing this was a deliberate attack on their species, #4 theorizes that there are only two possibilities for who is behind it. The first, The Elder Things, are scattered across the cosmos as they have been in decline since the Shoggoths turned on them. The second is the Mi-Go, but again #4 is skeptical, even though this seems within their capabilities.

Working with Reggie, they scan the planet and find a giant hive like structure less than 50 miles from the Yithian complex. They can see millions of these alien mosquitos, but also see what #4 identifies as Mi-Go flying around the Hive. As they plan strategy, they realize Inferno is nowhere to be found! Without her formidable powers, Reggie and 86 are concerned they might not be able to overcome the odds.

They come up with a desperate plan. #4 will pilot Reggies recliner, and draw the mosquitos after him, while Reggie and Agent 86 try and infiltrate the hive, and try to find a way to destroy them. #4 flies close to the hive, and when the mosquitos move to attack, it flies into space. Good luck is with them, as it appears all the mosquitos follow #1! Reggie and Agent 86 move in, but are attacked by 2 Mi-Go guards. A short by brutal fight takes place, but our heroes prevail (though Reggie is slightly injured in the fight).

They make it inside without encountering any more Mi-Go, and descend to the bottom of the hive, where they find breeding pools with millions of eggs. Reggie uses his kit of spare parts to create a set of incindiary rockets, while Agent 86 creates a massive flamethrower with his ring. The two lay waste to the breeding pits, destroying all the larva.

As they survey the destruction they've caused, they are confronted by a lone Mi-Go, who questions why they would aid the Yithians. The Mi-Go points out that humanity's innovation in ways to cause destruction is what inspired it to create the mosquitos to wipe out the Yithians. Reggie berates the Mi-Go for being as blind as the humans he left behind on earth. The Mi-Go attacks, but Reggie and Agent 86 are able to subdue it in short order.

They search its lab, and Reggie tries to translate the Mi-Go's research. He learns that the Mi-Go placed a genetic "dead switch" into the mosquitos, and finding the right machine, pulls a lever that causes them all the die in space. #4 contacts them mentally to confirm this, then flies the recliner back to the Hive. The remaining Mi-Go have fled into space. A group of Yithians also arrives, as they wish to study the Hive, as they are always trying to acquire new knowledge.

Of of the other Yithians says something to #4, and it explains that the Mi-Go they captured is what humans would consider "insane". It explains that Mi-Go have a sort of hive-mind connection, and the one captured is cut off. The other Mi-Go with it are part of the captured one's own hive-mind. It seems to believe their aberrant behavior is tied to this.

Another Yithian discovers that the Mi-Go had a device powered by a stone similar to the Shining Trapezohedron, which would allow it to open a portal through time. They believe the Mi-Go was planning on sending the mosquitos back in time to attack the Yithians on Earth in the past, which would have wiped them out! #4 expresses gratitude to Reggie and Agent 86 for saving it's species. It gives them these organic, stone like devices they can use to contact the Yithians for help if they ever need it.

Reggie asks to examine the time device. #4 reluctanly allows it, but explains the stone powering it is dangerous, and should be destroyed. Reggie offers to do so, and #4 suggests they cast it into a Black Hole. Reggie and Agent 86 take off, and start a search for a black hole to cast the device in, leaving behind the grateful Yithians to continue their examination of the mosquito Hive.

 

[dbm]

Loving reading about everyone's games, thought I would chip in...

Some history: I have been gaming with predominantly the same people for most of my gaming life. One of my buddies, we have been gaming together 37 years. The second tier of members, we have been playing together about 31 years and the majority of the rest 20 years. The 'new guy' has been in the group for about five years... A few years back, Mr 37 had life get busy and he stopped enjoying it, then stopped coming to the games (that was when we invited the new guy in, to bring the table back to strength).

Turns out Mr 37 had some deep rooted issues which he was failing to address. He had a second nervous breakdown and finally accepted that he was an alcoholic. Things got tough for him, but he hit rock bottom about eight months ago and finally acknowledged his problem, got help and started to turn a corner. Which was a big positive for everyone concerned.

Mr 37 wanted to get back into gaming (non-drinking aligned hobbies are a good help, as I understand things) but the big group can be a bit full-on and we like people to be able to come to the games fairly consistently so re-joining would have been tough for him in the early stages of getting his shit back together fully. Myself and the two 31-year guys decided we wanted to get some more gaming in anyway and maybe we could start a second, smaller group with him in it?

So, we now have two groups. The 'main group' is six of us, playing Out of the Pit as run by one of the 31-year dudes, and I volunteered to run something for the four of us long-timers as a second group (some Sci-fi Savage Worlds). The original plan was to keep meeting with the big group every third Sunday, whilst the second group would meet on a week-day evening every other week.We got about a month into that plan when Coronavirus became real (just before official lock down) and it seemed crazy to get six guys in a room for ten hours straight to play a game... We did some research and settled on Fantasy Grounds to get the games online. Both D&D and Savage Worlds are well supported on that platform and you can buy Out of the Abyss specifically so our other GM was super-keen to pick that platform.

I'm running the Erin Beta-V plot-point campaign from Pinnacle, and planning to mix in 'arc' sessions with 'interlude' sessions to keep things more interesting and flexible. Our group are happy with the idea of having a patron NPC to give them missions and that is the hook for this plot-point campaign, so all is good. And given that on-line gaming seems to benefit from a little more pre-game prep (to build cool maps etc.) then it also helps with that. I'm really enjoying the adventure generators that the book includes. I used it to create some random events leading up to the start of the key actions in the first session and it was really cool. A great boost to the imagination and a way of overcoming any creative blocks.

That brings me to the current position: we made SWADE characters and played an initial session face-to-face, then had a few weeks of online board gaming whilst I got up to speed with Fantasy Grounds Unity. Last week we picked up the action and played the first online SW session...

Session 1: The three party members (Dippity, a Serran empath. Frank Boston, a field engineer with terrible scars. Terrence Grey, an unassuming looking man with a big gun...) had been sent to the industrial promenade of Harmony station...

Spoiler: Plot point adventure!

... to intercept the cargo from a transport that was known to have a 'dangerous' payload. They were told by their contact, Maruul Soteeg (a four-armed Kalian woman of middle-seniority in Jump Corp) to go there and recover the cargo, taking it to a specific location on the military levels of the station. They asked some basic questions about the cargo (is it explosive? will they be expecting us) but were given little information and told to be discreet... Never the group's strong point...

They had been waiting at a space greasy-spoon near the planned landing point and whilst there a riot happened, which they got pulled into. This was a random encounter, basically a fight between rioting miners and Jump Corp Security, which the players could choose to insert themselves into or duck out of the way. No PC ever prospered by keeping out of the way, right? So they tried to talk the miners down but it was a tough ask and the fight started around them. They got pulled into it somewhat, but managed to come out unscathed.

This was a big fight, with two groups of Extras involved, one of 10 and one of 11. It was originally set up for the table, and I am sure it would have been a breeze there. It proved a little more cumbersome at this point in my experience of FGU and dragged a little. If the players had successfully allied with one side or the other I would have turned over control of these NPCs but it didn't get to that point.

So, after maybe three or four rounds of combat it was very clear that the miners were totally out classed by even the basic Security dudes, and the PCs had chosen to side with Security (which genuinely surprised me - I thought they would back the miners) so I called the fight at that point.

Luckily there was still a few hours before the Crolnec was due to arrive and so they had time to rest up before the main event. They did some 'internet research' and asked the waitress in the diner to see if there was reasons why the miners were rioting and basically discovered that there was a heightened tension in the station as a whole for no clear reason. The PCs only recently arrived in-system, so this was news to them.

The freighter arrived a little late, and the players got nervous but managed to find a local port official who confirmed it was still on the way. When the ship arrived the captain talked to the port official and the PCs decide to front it out, backing their load lugger up to the ship and claiming to be here to take the stuff onwards.

I have to say that I'm really enjoying making maps and stuff for FGU. I invested in some map-packs when lockdown started, and am learning how to use them and put them together to make an encounter. This is what we used for the attempted interception:



I pulled that together from a landing dock, a landed shuttle (cutting the ground away on the image...) and some token including a van from Car Wars as the load lugger.

Anyhow, the party rolled really badly to persuade the freighter captain that there had been sent to collect the cargo (and had spent up their bennies in the earlier fight...) so he was not convinced. A fire-fight started (the freighter crew were trigger happy, it makes total sense IC based on the back-ground context).

The players were getting a bit more used to their characters and abilities at this point, and some intelligent synergistic use of powers happened with Frank laying down some suppressive fire whilst Dippity used her fear powers and Terrence lobbed a smoke grenade. For a round or two it looked quite good for the party. Unfortunately half of the psychically frightened spacers were on the loading ramp so they ran back in to the ship... and started to make some loud and ominous noises in there. What the PCs couldn't know is that the dozen cargo pods contained swarms of Filament Spiders which were being brought to be let loose in the ducts of the station. The crew were willing to settle for loosing them on the promenade instead...

The PCs had taken a few wounds by this point, were low on bennies and facing growing numbers of foes. With a bit of not-subtle coaxing from me, they all jumped in the load lugger and sped away to fight another day. One of the things I want to emphasise in this game is that it isn't a dungeon-style adventure where there is a strong assumption that you need to overcome every challenge to 'win'; some of our recent games have devolved into that a bit but the prime-instigator is not part of this smaller group so some sense prevailed!

So, we closed the session there but they will speak with their patron, and then we will move on to the next session which will not relate to the overall campaign arc. Another of the cool GM assets I have collected over the years is a book of plot seeds from GnomeStew called 'Eureka - 501 plots'. A quick skim threw up a cool premise for murder between scientific rival, so the PCs will be asked to investigate that...

 

[Certified]

Metahuman News
This week we are looking at Karate, particularly Kobayashi Shorin Ryu Karate. Like other styles of karate it's a hard style. At the same time, it focuses on being able to quickly adapt, or adjust to an opponent. Personal note, one of my oldest friends is a top practitioner of Shorin Ryu in Las Vegas and runs a small dojo.
http://housedok.com/shorin-ryu-karate/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HouseDokPro

Website: http://housedok.com/

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#Metahumans #MetahumansRising #Superheroes #RPG #TTRPG #MartialArts #Karate #Kobayashi #ShorinRyu

 

[E-Rocker]

Another of the cool GM assets I have collected over the years is a book of plot seeds from GnomeStew called 'Eureka - 501 plots'. A quick skim threw up a cool premise for murder between scientific rival, so the PCs will be asked to investigate that...

Hey, I have that book, too! One time I got a full two-session adventure out of one of those little six-paragraph plots! Quite useful.

What I'm up to currently is being really frustrated with my group's collective inability to answer what seems to me to be the rather simple and straight-forward question of "can you play this week?"

Grrr. Trying to not get upset about it and just focus on something positive.

 

[dbm]

Hey, I have that book, too! One time I got a full two-session adventure out of one of those little six-paragraph plots! Quite useful.

I like things along these lines to shake up thinking and get us away from ‘the norm’. I can‘t recall the last time we did a murder mystery and it’s very rare to have this kind of twist in our games (it’s not just a murder, it‘s a murder engineered as assassination and industrial espionage).

What I'm up to currently is being really frustrated with my group's collective inability to answer what seems to me to be the rather simple and straight-forward question of "can you play this week?"

We did a run down of the week in our small group of four and there was only one night we were all available this week! You’d think people would have more free time, but no!

 

[E-Rocker]

Since only one player could confirm availability this week, the Savage Worlds group won't play until next week. Minor bummer, but I also don't really mind having an extra week to prep.S

I still get to play in the two weekly D&D 5e games- Beatrix's, in a world of her own creation, and Red Ted's Curse of Strahd. So that's fun.

 

[Vargold]

Second week of OSE dungeon crawling in Barrowmaze was a success (even though we have enough party deaths to start our own Boot Hill). It may just be the way that Roll20 handles "fog of war," I'm beginning to think that the dungeon map is the real PC of an Old School game.

 

[spittingimage]

Second week of OSE dungeon crawling in Barrowmaze was a success (even we have enough party deaths to start our own Boot Hill). It may just be the way that Roll20 handles "fog of war," I'm beginning to think that the dungeon map is the real PC of an Old School game.

I'm planning something similar for the coming weekend. Any Roll20 tips or experiences you want to pass on?

 

[Silverlion]

I'm playing a lot of games online. A variety of them. I realize I like some games so much more than others. It's often the people involved, though systems have an impact. I need to run an H&S game online and get some things done with it to keep moving it forward.

 

[urbwar]

I'm playing a lot of games online. A variety of them. I realize I like some games so much more than others. It's often the people involved, though systems have an impact. I need to run an H&S game online and get some things done with it to keep moving it forward.

Please run H&S! I would love to play that.

 

[E-Rocker]

In last night's Curse of Strahd game, we fought some hags who took offense that we wouldn't buy their pastries-of-dubious-ingredients. My PC, Zelmer, got hit with something that instantly aged him 30 years, making him 56.

After the battle, the DM allowed the rest of the party to Voltron their magic together, in a way that I'm pretty sure isn't RAW, but I'm fine with it, to reverse the aging. But they overdid it, so now, rather than being restored to being a 26-year-old, Zelmer has de-aged all the way to 16!

 

[Vargold]

I'm planning something similar for the coming weekend. Any Roll20 tips or experiences you want to pass on?

Sadly, this is only the third time I've ever played on Roll20 so I don't know much about the interface at all. I just love the bit that lets the DM reveal the map room by room—outstanding for tension.

 

[Silverlion]

Please run H&S! I would love to play that.

I need to find a couple of other players who are free.
I'll ask a friend to see what he's up to and check around Discord.

 

[urbwar]

I need to find a couple of other players who are free.
I'll ask a friend to see what he's up to and check around Discord.

please do, Hopefully I can get that Supers! one shot set up, if those other 2 interested people respond to my queries

 

[Silverlion]

please do, Hopefully I can get that Supers! one shot set up, if those other 2 interested people respond to my queries

Someone wandered in asking about an Icons server, others pointed him to BWK and Bamf! I got him a PDf copy to see (last free money) I don't even have a PDF just print heh. But pay it forward--suggested he talk to you when you pop up, and vice versa if he would be interested.

 

[urbwar]

Someone wandered in asking about an Icons server, others pointed him to BWK and Bamf! I got him a PDf copy to see (last free money) I don't even have a PDF just print heh. But pay it forward--suggested he talk to you when you pop up, and vice versa if he would be interested.

Yeah, I'm caught up (I went to sleep an hour or so before they showed up in the server, as I had been up since 7Pm the night before as I had work from midnight to six am). If he plays, I think I have enough people to set up a game

 

[Panzerkraken]

I finished school for the summer and I'm flailing wildly trying to fill my time. Debating picking up old game projects or working on something new. I really don't know which direction to go.

 

[Bunch]

I finished school for the summer and I'm flailing wildly trying to fill my time. Debating picking up old game projects or working on something new. I really don't know which direction to go.

Come this direction for a few weeks and watch my kids so I can flail wildly for a bit.

 

[Tulpa Girl]

Still running Basic Fantasy for the teens. They last few sessions were pretty dark (one of the kids made the comment "this isn't fantasy, it's horror in fantasy drag") resulting in the deaths of one of the PCs. Thankfully, the next adventure seed they're choosing to pursue will probably be a bit lighter in tone, and will allow me to have a NPC from a previous session show back up for further hijinks.

 

[AsenRG]

Still running Basic Fantasy for the teens. They last few sessions were pretty dark (one of the kids made the comment "this isn't fantasy, it's horror in fantasy drag") resulting in the deaths of one of the PCs. Thankfully, the next adventure seed they're choosing to pursue will probably be a bit lighter in tone, and will allow me to have a NPC from a previous session show back up for further hijinks.

Got any details to share about the horror? Did you use a LotFP module or what?

 

[Certified]

Metahuman News
Dating back millennia, across empires, and cultures, boxing has a long tradition. For our take on this martial art, we've chosen In-Fighter boxing, for it's sheer power and relentlessness. Hopefully, our write up captures the unrelenting force these boxers can unleash by trading defense for their more aggressive posture.
http://housedok.com/in-fighter-boxing/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HouseDokPro
Website: http://housedok.com/
Print: https://studio2publishing.com/products/metahumans-rising?_pos=2&_sid=145b3fa95&_ss=r\
PDF: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/277614/Metahumans-Rising
#Metahumans #MetahumansRising #Superheroes #RPG #TTRPG #MartialArts #Boxing #InFighterBoxing #InFighter

 

[Tulpa Girl]

Got any details to share about the horror? Did you use a LotFP module or what?

Actually, yes. A tweaked version of Scenic Dunnsmouth.

 

[Tulpa Girl]

Also, it pleases me that one of my players, after I had described some of the inspiration for the decadence and cruelty of the former elven empire in a previous session, has started reading some of the Elric stories.

 

[AsenRG]

Actually, yes. A tweaked version of Scenic Dunnsmouth.

How did I guess it...

Also, it pleases me that one of my players, after I had described some of the inspiration for the decadence and cruelty of the former elven empire in a previous session, has started reading some of the Elric stories.

Job well done!

 

[urbwar]

I played a demo of the kid-friendly superhero rpg, Save the Day yesterday for the Babies with Knives podcast (video forthcoming). The author uses a lot of printed miniatures (which he used during the session). It's a fun and simple system that uses 1D6. We ended up fighting this cult that summoned a demon who possessed a goat. It's villain name was Diaboligoat!

One cool thing I noticed with his miniatures: the city the action took place in was rundown and crime ridden. So the miniatures have graffiti on them. The one where the final encounter took place had an the image of the mutant from Ralph Bakshi's Wizards (the one from the poster) on it. I just thought that was so cool

On friday, I played Era: Hitman, which is about super powered assassins. My character was actually non-powered. Our 3 man team was supposed to kidnap this general in some oppressive regime (he was the #2 man in the dictatorship), but it was a trap. The general was a nutjob willing to blow himself up via suicide vest to take us out (as we're part of a guild, and they hate our guild). We captured him anyway, but some choppers were chasing us. So I put on the suicide vest and his coat, tumbled from the car like I was him getting away, and waited for the choppers to come to me. Once some soldiers rappelled down to me, I blew myself up, taking the choppers with me (allowing my team mates to get away and complete the mission). The GM (who also wrote the game among others) thought that was awesome. I figured it being a one shot, it was a good way to go!

 

[Panzerkraken]

Come this direction for a few weeks and watch my kids so I can flail wildly for a bit.

Nah, one of mine just left for the Air Force and the other is old enough I don't have to do anything with her anymore (she runs her own D&D games for her friends and doesn't want to play in "Dad's Games" anymore).

I'm debating making a traveller sector, or rewriting Rifts (again^6). Hm.

 

[Silverlion]

Played D&D today, rough time with voice connections for one of the people (GM sadly) we are 5th level and are fighting undead which is a neat change from fighting a Dragon's "army." We killed the dragon last time we played now its a year later, I'm trying to drum up funds for paying for an NPC's resurrection. Who died helping us with the Dragon. Poor blacksmith lass. I'm invested in my character more than a lot of D&D games. Kinda fun, but I want more than fighting so I'm going to talk to the GM, pretty sure we can do something--both ended up with Entertainer background, I'm also a Monk/Rogue (Started as Rogue aiming for Assassin, end up spending a lot of time punching people before I leveled.)