GM WhtKnt's Forge of Heroes (Inactive)

Game Master WhtKnt

Still here, more or less. Been having some personal troubles lately, but am not bothered by a slow pace. If I were to drop out, I think it would be from disenchantment with the system. Mutants and Masterminds is wonderful for how creative it allows you to be with character design, but in the end I find the Power Level mechanic makes characters feel too homogeneous; it never feels as though characters have strengths and weaknesses, so much as when it comes to a fight, all the characters are too predictably equal. It may sound like an odd complaint, but I actually like being really bad at something but particularly good at a specific task. In M&M, everyone tends to be so equivalent that all that is left is the fluff of exactly how they do the thing anyone else in the group could have done just as well.

I've been playing M&M for near a decade now, but was recently introduced to a more unpredictable system in Savage Worlds, and find it so much more refreshingly unpredictable, that at times I have trouble getting excited about M&M.

This is apropos of nothing, of course, just a thought that has been percolating in the back of my mind, as I am wondering if M&M has run its course for me.

I feel the game has been well GM'd, it is just the system that feels lacking...

I don't disagree much Arcfire. Savage Worlds is great too...but the power curve maxes out pretty quickly in my experience once you 'level' your character past a certain point. Now, my experience was with a Gm who adapted it into a Star Wars game.

All that being said, I'm enjoying MINOTAR's run here, and I can't wait until we start getting into all the meaty side quests the DC universe has to offer.

Savage Worlds is far from perfect. I've noticed the same that at higher experience levels the power tends to even up, but by comparison I still find it more dynamic. It has a few quirks I dont really care for, but on the whole I have been having more fun with it. In M&M I've generally experienced that the most fun is in building the character; once you start playing it is mechanically monotonous. The Roleplay and the story can still be great, but having bland feeling mechanics is still a significant handicap.

M&M reminds me of Champions build mechanics.

Have you tried BASH? Its simple mechanics are surprisingly swingy in practice. So, Wasp can take on Thor.

I am going to be at a con until Monday and will likely be unable to post. Please bot me as necessary or, if you are in my game, be patient and I will pick up on Monday evening or Tuesday morning.

We still alive?

I was waiting on Arcfire to respond but I think that it may be time to call ToD on this one. Is anyone else still here?

I'm so sorry, I didn't even notice there was a post for me; I thought we were waiting on someone else... I must have either clicked on the post at some point and not read it, or the new post notice was glitching out as it likes to do sometime.

Still here

Still here, but I'm on vacation starting tomorrow through Wednesday.

Still here.

Okay, if everyone is still in, then I'll kick things back into gear and we'll carry on.

Awesome! I was worried there.
=)

I have not been able to concentrate on this game, and I feel like I am holding things up. I am going to drop out as I just don't seem to be into it anymore, and sticking around is not fair to the other players.

Understood. We will be seeing you around the boards. Thank you for letting us know.

I've a business trip until Wednesday. Please bot as necessary.

cheers

I've a week long business trip arriving home Saturday afternoon. I may have some access, but please bot me as necessary.

cheers

Hey, guys. My wife has just gone into the hospital as we prepare to welcome our first child. Posting may be sporadic, and I won’t be able to do anything on the maps for a while.

I should be back to mostly normal in a couple weeks.

Congratulations!!!!

Definitely Yes. Congrats!

I've a business trip this week leaving tomorrow. My posting will be intermittent. I may return Thursday, but it potentially drags to Friday. Please bot me as necessary.

I'm going to try to post tonight after the kids get to bed.

cheers

Okay, Kestrel's upgrade is complete (though her alias sheet is still ugly and work-sheet-y).

Going away to Disneyworld until the 5th. If I am in your game, feel free to bot me. If you are in my game, we will pick up at that time.

Have fun!

Now unless I don't understand the DC Universe in our instance, ARGUS isn't in charge of the League. How they can force a change in our membership seems awry to me, especially if it is someone who is downright unpleasant and seemingly not very useful (he hasn't demonstrated anything but a smart mouth so far). If a Leaguer said 'watch this guy', Straightjacket would take it, but if some government agent just drops him off like this, he'll have no part of it.

I think it's more of a "lean on" than a "force" situation. Whether or not ARGUS can force anything, they can certainly make things unpleasant - especially for a B-Team.

But Kestrel thought the masquerade was funny anyways, so ymmv :-)

I’m sorry. I had no intention to cause that much of a problem. I only intended it as a funny scene with him being dressed down by the agent at the end. The rug being pulled out from under him as he expected to be working with the ‘big league’ heroes (pun intended) was suppose to be a blow to his ego and teach him a little humility. Understandable he is a little angry and lashing out.
As for ‘changing the roster’ it was my understanding that ARGUS worked with the League. The helped pay for, build and man the Watchtower after all. I would have assumed that they would have talked with the League and worked out his being placed with the heroes trying to prove their mettle to see how well he can work with others and prove his willingness to work for the greater good.
I would also like to point out that while he has he hasn’t been ‘friendly’ per say, he also hasn’t been ‘hostile’. He hasn’t really done anything except maybe distract the heroes from the investigation for a few minutes and throw out a few cringe-worth nicknames. After all, it’s not like anyone’s bothered to introduce themselves (except MINOTAR, but there are just too many fun robots to reference, sorry) and in-character Leon had no normal way of knowing SJ had a ghost ‘haunting’ him. So yes, it would have sounded a little weird to hear CW ask SJ to talk to someone Leon couldn’t see.
Honestly he was starting to respect Coldwar and Straightjacket for standing up to him. I figured he’d warm up to the group as he found himself getting involved in the mission.

But if it’s that big of an issue and everyone wants him gone, I can pull out.

I think things have been fine. I thought everyone (including Straight Jacket) were just role-playing and sticking to character. Is someone miffed? I agree I don't think anything was truly meant to be insulting or annoying other than for entertainment purposes.

MINOTAR is just lapping up the emotion overlays and interactions for filing later. Keep the robot references coming as far as I'm concerned.

P.S. Just don't refer to MINOTAR as a 'Dalek' (From Dr. WHo). He just might take offense at THAT...

I hadn’t thought of the Dalek, maybe Cybermen. I was wondering if I’d be able to work in a Will Robinson reference.

Edit: Even better. K-9. :)

Edit2::What kinda of form does MINO have? Humanoid? Reverse joint legs? A face or more like your avatar pic? Any ref pic links?

I did, but the link has gone bad. He's basically a hulk-y sort of humanoid with normal human-like proprtions. About 7 feet tall (Before the horns), and an all-over gunmetal-metallic shine/look. The horns are very mythical-looking (Curving down from the sides of his head and then up sharply) probably to enhance the idea behind his acronym's mythical counterpart, But they are not very sharp (blunted) and he does not use them in combat...but he has a tendency to charge into battle since, in most cases, he never had a natural ranged attack before.

His face is largish (not a muzzle but close) and basically robotic (non-traditional) like MINOTAR's avatar pic here. HIs 'Horns' are mostly transmission and reception antennae and unique sensors (Effectively Motion/vibration sensors for his Danger Sense and his 'Darkvision' senses).

He recently grew a 'hump' on his right shoulder. This folds out into a small rail-gun inspired micro-grenade launcher (Think 'the Predator' and you get the idea) that fires small burst stun grenades, but also requires him to spend extra time (and gain a slight vulnerability) to link with his targeting system and sensors before he can fire safely.

Being mocked by someone who is foist upon us will not sit well with Straighjacket. He wasn't contributing to the investigation anyway, so he figure better to just leave and not be annoyed any more.

When there's something suitable to his talents, he'll be back, but Leon shouldn't exactly count on him for favors.

Tonight I head out of town on business returning Saturday. I'll have limited time to post, and combat posts will be very difficult. Please bot me as necessary. Cheers

I'm asking all my folks to forgive me for a few days. I had a friend commit suicide this morning and I need some time to process this. I will be back in a day or three. In the meantime, if you or someone you know needs to talk, PLEASE call someone! Send me a private message if nothing else. I am always willing to listen and I promise that it will remain confidential!!

Take your time. Life is far more important than a mere game.

Understood. Take your time. We will be here when you get back.

Take all the time you need. We can wait.

It sounds like Coldwar probably stays at the HQ too. So I imagine we’re waiting for him to join us in the javelin. But Straightjacket lives off base so he can meet us there. MINOTAR seems like the type to notify him.
Also, anyone know what happen to Fairytale?

@WhtKnt - Does the HQ has a staff? Kinda like, but significantly smaller then, the Watchtower? I’m just trying to figure out how if there was non hero people helping with up keep or if it was just us there and how someone would get to and from the HQ other then Javelin. I was figuring there was a way by car/truck but wasn’t sure if it would be a gated road like a military setup or some kind of well hidden dirt trail.

There is a support staff; a few technicians and a couple of maids that work during the day and live off-site. There is a teleporter on site, but it largely goes either to the Hall of Justice or the Watchtower. I hadn't given thought to any other ways of getting here, but I suppose that a well-hidden road would not be out of the question.

Gotta love the irony. ;)

What inspired your hero?

For me the power was obviously inspired by the anime, but the character is actually based on one I created for a role playing board that closed about a decade ago. That one was also a thief and worked as a trio with his foster siblings (they also have anime inspired powers).The original personality actually wasn’t snarky like this one (that was more his foster sister’s personality), it just kinda happened. And he didn’t have a love interest back then, I added her for some conflict and interesting possibilities in the future.

I need to apologize to my GMs and players. I have less than two weeks to a local convention on which I serve as the Game Operations Director, overseeing the entire gaming room (which is the largest gaming floor in my area). I also have to make a trip to Dallas this weekend that cannot be avoided and I have possible jury duty starting on Monday next week. Anyway, I will update when I can. I haven't forgotten you, just been very busy.

Hey if you are ever in Dallas with extra time on your hands and want to hang out, send me a message. I live in Garland.

=)

You never need to apologize for having a life. Things happen, commitments come up, life can be a pain sometimes. :p
We’ll be ready when you you are.

Okay, I'm back. The con was great, but very tiring! We had about 1500 unique visitors, which is pretty good for a convention our size. Guests included Morgan Berry (voice actress), Jay Little (gaming guest), Brendan LaSalle (from Goodman Games), and fantasy artist/gamer Melissa Gay. I found time to run two original Savage Worlds adventures (a fantasy jaunt titled "The Banshee's Tower" and a Weird War II adventure called "The Dogs of War"). Jay Little signed my copies of Age of Rebellion and Edge of the Empire and Brendan signed my copy of How to Write Adventure Modules That Don't Suck. All in all, a good weekend! I'll be getting back into the swing tomorrow.

Welcome back!

=)

Sounds like fun, wish I had the disposable income to go to cons. I count myself lucky if my wife and I can make it to SPX.

Is this pre or post Killing Joke?

Can we all agree the Communication power is way over priced for what it does?
A cell phone can reach between 20 to 45 miles to connect with a tower (or so I’ve Googled).
That would put it at a rank 3, that’s 12 points base.
Even if you add the flaw for limited to other cell phones (-1/rank) and easily removable(-2/5points) that’s still like 5 points for a phone.
It was one of my biggest hurdles when trying to build a battlesuit, I couldn’t justify the point cost.

Thoughts?

I hope everyone is doing okay, given the state of things as they are right now.

I'm in Garland TX...so me and mine are OK. So far. Store shelves are missing a bunch of toilet paper for some reason...

=/