And thus begins OOC #3...

Also in addition to the debriefing, people should feel free to chat/RP in the SMITE Base/HQ thread...

Vosper failed her inventing as usual, so I'll try again next year. ;)

So far, she's slept away the battle fatigue.  Her future activities will depend on what's going on.  She trained in HTH Accuracy, and considering my dice luck, she'll keep on that. ;)

Next year.....pffft. This last mission took 3 real months to go through, not too bad time-wise.

So I have decided to allow help on inventing rolls for stunts/inventions. Oscillator can help one person in addition to doing his own thing and there are scientists/technicians on the base who can also help people. How it works is the person making the inventing roll gets a bonus equal to 1/2 their Int or the Int of the assisting person (rounded up), whichever is higher. Since the scientists/technicians aren't under the time constraints for inventing that the heroes are (ie. it is no biggie for them to take months to work on something) they are available to assist anyone. Figure they have Int stats of 17-18, giving a +9% bonus to the inventing roll of each hero (aside from Oscillator every other hero is lower than that Int).

As long as we get down time we should eventually make the rolls.

The only 2 heroes still pretty beat-up are Poco and Inhuman. Poco had the CRIT potion on the battlefield which brought him up to 15 hit points and Inhuman even dropping into human form would not be at full from the battle either (he would have been at 138/206 in Inhuman form or 30/52 in Master Sergeant form). You can't use more than 1 CRIT potion in a 48 hour period because of the stress forced regeneration puts on the body so they have damage to be healed over the downtime. Everyone else I believe was fully healed between the CRIT an one night's rest. Everyone will be 100% healed by the end of the downtime of course...

Just to state what I thought was obvious - that was meant as a tongue-in-cheek comment... not a complaint about the way Xhaos runs his game. ;)

As a matter of course, Nightmare will be assigning beneficial karmic entities to Poco and Inhuman. It's an extra multiplier to their healing rate, figured it might be a nice gesture.

The Inhuman needs all the good karma he can get, but in fact has a power stunt that aids healing so he is ok.

Thanks Nightmare

...so I wonder where exactly Poco *is* if he isn't at the Ready Room with everyone else...

Thats not true.
I distinctly remember posting him sleeping in the corner of the ready room.

:-p

Hmmmm.....just looked. Nope, the post says nothing about him sleeping in the corner of the ready room.

It says: "He'd been woken at 7:30' like everyone else, and had left the infirmary ...


              ... and hasn't been seen since."

Yes, that was this time.
Muldy is referring to the 'last time' we met in the Ready Room.
Eddy slept in the corner, much to Barnsie's chagrin.

Ah gotcha.....finishing my workweek so a bit slow on the uptake here at the job.

Sorry for the delay in posting... been REALLY sick and its been hard to come up with a good reponce.. I have one .. but I'm just too tired to post it right now... I'll try to get it out some time tonight. Blah... I hate being sick.

Had lengthy discussion about 'power creep' in V&V.

IMO, the reason we have training, IP, and specific powers get really big (TK, Mag Pwrs, Attack Bonus (expertise?), magic spells), etc
AND level vs lvl bonus boosts

is bc when we get higher level, hopefully we have compensated for our heroes weaknesses & boosted their strengths so they are bad asses.

The enemies likely will be more powerful -- and most of them dont have to endure the exp gains like we do.

So if we have 1 mo downtime, spend the IP!!

Liked your post Ossy. Great way to refocus things.

Thanks!!

Um, should I be worried now?
;)

So again Oscillator with another crack about the lack of intel......this *is* 1964, not 2015. The level of intelligence gathering tech is nowhere near as effective as what we take for granted now. There is no way of knowing if someone is a super unless they have obvious physical features (like Poco) when they are not in costume. That goes for Ramesses too, he knows a lot but he is not omniscient by a long shot. As far as anyone could easily tell the Soviet supers you encountered were scientists, soldiers, or base staff. So you had the intel that was available to be gathered.

As far as Sunphoenix's player he did jump the gun a bit with his intro. I had been thinking about a different into but didn't feel like deleting and reposting after he posted his entry.

So it would really make me happy if it wasn't assumed that the team is deliberately being left in the dark on a mission but instead realized supers in military, research, and intel roles is still a very new thing and there is a lot of missing data and misinformation by both sides.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:17, Sat 23 May 2015.

OOC: I heartily apologize if Osc's griping about lack of intel are upsetting.  It's not meant to be -- it's just roleplaying his POV.

My thoughts behind Oscillator's (endless) complaining are as follows:

• he's a civilian and a scientist
• he doesn't understand military or intel (much, but he's learning)
• he's a super-genius (INT: 31)
• he gets a beating on most (if not all) of the battles
• relating to a, b, & c -- he regularly assumes that if the team had ALL the data, they could prepare better and do better.

A couple possible fixes for Osc's griping:

• get a super-genius lab-rat (like him) to handle the team's intel / battlefield strategy, have the two of them 'nerd out' for a bit
• the team adds a telepath with detect weakness and some kind of psi power to 'evaluate opponents'
• Osc goes on a few missions without the team getting pulverized
• more field experience (ie more missions) to make him more 'battle-hardened'.

Also, as GM & I have discussed, Oscillator would prefer to be relocated OFF-BASE to pursue his scientific endeavors, and summoned ONLY prior to missions.  Currently that hasn't been worked out, but he's requesting it -- b/c he could be giving up millions of dollars and notoriety while being a secret military contractor instead of a world-famous scientist (think Tony Stark).

By the way.. its 1964... which means..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_SEALs

The Navy SEALS were started in 1961, and the first two teams were organized and went into operations in 1962.  There are SEALS.

... just wanted everyone to know that.

You got me on that one. Those damned SEALs are so sneaky I did not think they were formed till 1964. Though I would bet they would have been called frogmen or UDT by anyone but the Department of the Navy. But you were right and I was wrong.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:26, Sat 23 May 2015.

Also, I think WE are a big part of Barnsie's Intel gathering.
IE send us in, then read our reports of what we encountered.

Some thoughts to help with that (for the eggheads and GI's among us, Vos sure as hell Eddy doesn't think this way):

1/ when we hit an installation, check the secretarial pool for files on Supers and defense.  Vos could go through the paperwork like a hot curry through Eddy, and just grab anything that looks relevant, for proper sorting later.

2/ one or more of use carry camera's, for taking photos if the opportunity arises.


We've had the discussion about 'can our team please have a psychic' on several occasions.  And the GM has, as is his right, said not as an NPC; as PC attrition happens, or new players join, new characters can be rolled up and we'll see what happens.

In fact, with the GMs permit, I am hereby stating that Eddy is quite the artist.  He loves drawing, and is furry good at it.

At request*, he will doing Character drawings of the opposition, after each encounter, for the files.  These will be very comicbook/roleplay-like characterisations, which often include illustration of Power use.


* probably at Vos's request: as, of all the egghead/militants in our group, he likes her, and gets along best with her

I was never under the impression that Sunphoenix was still active Marines. It is perfectly reasonable to have served 4 years and "retired" from active service, joining the SMITE program. (You could always tack on another few years to his age to reflect a bit longer time in the service)

No player has any position of authority over any other player. I am guessing Muldoon is being played as a by-the-numbers military guy. He certainly has barked an order or two at the others (to variable effect) but he is not "in charge". That would be Commander Barnes but he wields a light hand as many of the team are not of military background.

I also don't normally intervene between players unless it is necessary. It is likely Muldoon's player is just playing his character but I can't answer that because I am not him, he would have to answer that.

It's a roleplaying game. Muldoon is a career NCO. Your character presented himself as being on active duty. The character reacted as he would react.

When your character enter the briefing room he made a point of reminding your character that this was a briefing and he should present himself accordingly. If your character were not on active duty , he would have said nothing.

When your character made what Muldoon saw as excuses that did not reflect well on your character for his appearance rather than going and showering and changing into uniform, he revisited the topic.

Your character is the new guy. New guys get razzed. The first time Muldoon walked in that room he got screwed with. Poco still screws with him.

This stuff is in character.

When your character endlessly flirts with Vosper, even at times that seem wildly I appropriate I chalk it up to your character and the 1960's. I don't assume you are trying to achieve sequel dominance over the player.

Instead your character is reacting to a character a certain way.

Same thing.

That you ret coned a maid up medical discharge to talk smack ... whatever.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:21, Sun 24 May 2015.

@Poco -- love it!  Yeah, we should've brought spy cameras on that last mission before dusting that lab!  Not snapping pics of research, but maybe of people / supers / super formulae, etc.

:)

@SunPhoenix -- don't take anything personal.  You are the newest, you jumped in with both feet, and you have (inadvertantly?) rubbed some folks the wrong way.  It's normal...!

General Military Authority
General military authority originates in oaths of office, law, rank structure,
traditions, and regulations. This broad-based authority also allows leaders to
take appropriate corrective actions whenever a member of any armed service,
anywhere, commits an act involving a breach of good order or discipline.

AR 600-20, paragraph 4-5, states this specifically, giving commissioned,
warrant, and noncommissioned officers authority to "quell all quarrels, frays,
and disorders among persons subject to military law"--in other words, to
maintain good order and discipline. An example of this is when an NCO
makes an on the spot correction of a soldier from another unit.

All enlisted leaders have general military authority. For example, dining
facility managers, platoon sergeants, squad leaders, and tank commanders all
use general military authority when they issue orders to direct and control
their subordinates. Army leaders may exercise general military authority
over soldiers from different units.

For NCOs, another source of general military authority stems from the
combination of the chain of command and the NCO support channel. The
chain of command passes orders and policies through the NCO support
channel to provide authority for NCOs to do their job.
As a noncommissioned officer, you have both general military authority and
the duty to enforce policies and regulations. Failure to exercise your general
military authority is neglecting your duty for which you can be held
accountable.


This is the basis of Muldoon's actions. If you want to see this in action look around an airport or anywhere else you will see military personnel. If you see a soldier, airman, seaman or marine crossing the line in some way ie uniform, intoxication or fighting you will see a NCO or Officer address that individual regardless of branch of service. This is not a matter of chain of command, rather as stated above in is regardless of branch.

It is different from chain of command and is in effect regardless of leave status.

A rather odd way to ring in Memorial Day. To my fellow Americans, this weekend please take a minute to remember those who gave their lives for our country.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:29, Sun 24 May 2015.

In reply to Sword of Damocles (msg # 25):

I am very busy today..catching up on all that I've missed being bed-ridden for the past week.. and I have religious meets to attend this morning followed immediately by a Pathfinder Game that I'm glad I'll be able to make this week, so I'll be replying later this evening.

OK WTF.....my IE is deciding to be a douchenozzle today. TWICE I tried to reply to this and TWICE it froze up ON THE RPOL TAB ONLY. I had thoughts and stuff I was saying and now can't even get it all back so I am just going to make this simple.

SMITE is not a military operation, there is a majority of civilians on the team so standard military procedure is suspended aside from reasonable expectations of decorum (what would be expected from civilians). So whether someone is active duty, retired military, or a civilian  is irrelevant. The only person who has nominal say-so over anyone on the team is Commander Barnes and even that is loosened by the nature of the team. Government and military oversight only, the team is given a certain amount of autonomy and leeway simply based on the nature of the makeup of the heroes.

Or to put it another way, let's drop this line of discussion since it isn't the way things work for SMITE and get back to the game. I will be getting the debriefing started soon...
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:31, Sun 24 May 2015.

"Yes sir, GM sir!!"

:)

Message moved from IC thread by GM:


No worries. With all that trouble I caused who can blame you for taking a break.

But the red scourge of communism still threatens the free world so let's get back in the game and make America a safe place for baseball, mom and apple pie.

Sorry thought that was the ooc thread

@Master Sgt Patrick Muldoon

Wow, you spew BS Propaganda with amazing panache!

Shall I barf now or later?

Remember, this is OOC thread...?

No posts.  :(

Seriously, is that a badger on his shoulders?
Anyone that has been near a real badger would know better than to wear the fur that close to the olfactory senses.

Actually, with a month or so of down-time between missions there is nothing saying that people can't wander off the base to go to the nearest city for some R&R. I have just been hand-waving the time between missions but if people want to do a little detail of R&R to feel like they aren't tied to the base 24/7 that is fine.

In reply to Sword of Damocles (msg # 37):

Sweet! :)

Oh, ok.

Well, the brainpan begins to tick over ...

Oscillator will never ask for anything while he's locked away in his lab, but someone could bring him a cheesy memento from their partying.

If the parties are going to be cheesy, Nightmare won't come. His karma is very important to him, and he's not sure what effect extreme cheesy-ness would have.
The party might be interesting, just to see if Poco would turn into a cheetah...

I'm having big-time Internet access issues right now and a major free time problem to go with it. I hope to resolve this soon, but may not be very active in the meantime.

We'll try to ... uh, we're not doing anything right now, so chillax.

OOG time, ho hum, is it back to ping-pong in the lounge?

Oh, I think we can liven things up, a bit.

In re: my last post about pre-configured team arrangements, I'd like to see us figure out (as a group, not putting it all on Muldoon) a few theoretical strategic groupings, namely:

Stealth Mode:

Long-Range:

Flying:

Heavy Hitters:

I can put in my suggested line ups / team ups (ie Onyx / Osc / SunPhoenix are only flyers), but pairing teammates is good also b/c you can come up with power stunts like 'team moves', and so on.

Right now, even though the heroes are working a lot better as a team, we don't objectively seem like much of a team.

Maybe this needs it's own thread -- a STRATEGY / GAMEPLANS thread -- for 'in-character' strategy & planning?
OR
perhaps I'm over-reaching?

I'm going to be a fairly erratic player for the next couple of months at the very least. If the GM wants to NPC Onyx or have him sit out the next mission, I fully understand.

What is the definition of "fairly erratic"?

Erratic.

:)

It's either the opposite of unfairly erratic or the opposite of fairly stable, but this game doesn't have unicorns in the fairy stables, so I'm not sure why we brought it up.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:42, Fri 12 June 2015.

I would assume he's meaning that you can't count on him to make more than maybe a single post a week... that would be what I would consider fairly erratic.

I'm not going to have regular convenient Internet access during the summer. I will have my phone, but it is hard to post RPOL using a phone.

It is probably best just to put Onyx to the side until August at this point. I'm finding it hard to keep up with the discussions when I can only check in every several days. For instance, I know I've missed a ton of talk this last week.

Honestly not *really* a ton, just the debriefing which is fluff for the most part.

That being said I can put Onyx on the side or NPC him until August. I still have to figure out what the team is doing next...

True that -- but I do it frequently with Android.  Chrome seems to work best.
:)

Are we experiencing 'summer slowdown'?

No, it's the usual rpol stuff, summer slower than others.

Maybe.  I'm waiting for an appropriate time to post.  Till then, Eddy is chillin' and drawin'.

Just so you know, Kiss of Steel is Caress of Steel and he is a she. ;)

Editted.

Trust me to get it wrong.

No worries. :)

HA HA HA

Just a thought -- if we are all in one room, but you're somewhere totally different, maybe post a location so someone can show up & give you hell (a la Vosper)..?  example:

LOUNGE
Poco scribbles a drawing and prepares a meal.

I don't think he meant the fridge was in the same room, I think it was to indicate the single-mindedness of his quest for protein.
Of course, Nightmare wasn't paying attention, so I could be wrong.

I have always assumed, and make posts based on that assumption, that there was a kitchenette facility in the Ready Room.

Either way, Eddy was draining during the Debreif.

He's tossed the picture somewhere, whether it be the ready room, or some other common/kitchenette area.

I sincerely hope "draining" = drawing with a typo.

Otherwise, I don't want to know WHAT you were draining!!
HA HA HA

Just a head's up... I'm going to be offline from June 30th through July 7th.  Please feel free to NPC my character, or move 'em along as needed!

Vosper suddenly learns Osc's invention / stunt that she didn't want to learn!!!

That would be nice!

While Vosper's being NPC, Nightmare will teach her to meditate while she fights. Then when she runs circles around the villains they'll think its a new form of motorized shoes.
Because as she zips by all they'll hear is ommmmmm...ommmmmm...ommmmm.

I'm not gone yet! :P

But, that's a good idea.

Hey!  What if, when she misses, it ricochets and she gets a chance to miss AGAIN?  That would be missing something... :D

For Vosper --
I read a cool power stunt, was your character can do 2 attacks (ie multiple attacks) w/2 PR for second attack, if first misses 2nd attack is unaffected.

Certainly her super speed could allow...?

Vosper burns through PR at a ridiculous rate as is...

2 players commented "Limited online time, gonna be busy, unlikely to update RPOL for awhile."
Suddenly, ALL of my games stop.   So I'm wondering, is it REALLY 2 people?

Perhaps.

Just summer on rpol. I'm around.

The saddest person is the one that knows everyone else is another of their personalities, it makes it very difficult to flirt.

I love you too.

(crying)

Speak for yourself.
All my personalities are hot and horny; that's how I know your depressive types ain't part of this collective.

Ain't nobody turns me on as much as I do.

Awk-ward...

:) {Jus' kiddin!}

Yeah but I don't think you guys would be all that interested in reading erotica that I wrote...lol.. especially between characters I'd be running both of.  But since I don't run any PbP games.. tha's not gonna happen! {snicker}

All of your personalities EXCEPT Poco Tehuantl?

BUT

It sounds like we have some interesting roleplay to look forward to!  :)

I thought we were roleplaying online, when suddenly...!

Eddy is covered in fur all the time, you think he's not hot?
He's a teenage boy, you think he's not horny?

And dont look forward to it too much; if it wasn't abundantly clear, I roleplay that part by myself.

The Cold War isn't going to fight itself.

{snicker}

We're fighting a different kind of cold war, here. Weapon of choice? Decongestant.

Any Phlegmish Art?

Howdy y'all!  Dunno what happened, but my rpol games all went dark just when I got laid off!

Its been sad and somehow also a weird synchronous event.

After months of hunting, I now have 5+ job interviews all lined up in the same week!  This week!

I should probably go hit the casino, cuz baby I am HOT!!!

Hopefully I get one of them, ideally the one I interviewed for today -- its highly paid AND a great next step in my career.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, heroes!!!

On a 100% rpol note, are we having downtime, or are we done?  I hope its just a momentary "Oh sh*t things just got real" pause.

Good luck on the job hunt.

I, too, have been trying to figure out why there's a sudden downturn in the post rate. In this case it's across the board (so to speak), with the rate of both the games I play in and the games I run dropping like a bad outfielder with a fly.
It's gotten to the point where I will take any excuse to string words together and experiment, possibly stretching to avant-garde posting, just to fill the silence in my head. After all, I wouldn't want the voices to come back.

@ Nightmare - right, summer is over, no?

I am not looking to end the game but despite some suggestions on directions to go I am suffering from a bit of mental paralysis and lack of creative process. I am not sure how exactly to overcome that at this moment although I had intended to resume at the end of the summer...

@ Sword of Damocles -- good news!

Yay, lets not DIE!
:)

Glad that you are still interested. I have no trouble waiting for inspiration to strike.

I don't mind waiting, but watch out for that inspiration. Sometimes it hits hard.

Happy Holidays!!!

Looks like we are dead, Jim.

Hi all

The holidaze are upon us, with all that implies. In that spirit (and also because I am still suffering from lack of mental creativity) I am not looking to do anything until the new year. I just wanted to let people know.

Happy holidays.  Hope all is well.

Thanks for checking in.

Happy Holidays to you all!  ^_^

I am sure Oscillator's player will check back in soon enough but I hope Onyx's player (BurningBones) is OK. He hasn't been through here in 3 months and deleted his game 2 months ago...

In reply to Sword of Damocles (msg # 99):

It worries me as well. Hope he is ok.

Sometimes, you look at the dice and wonder where the years went. That kind of wondering always takes longer than you think.

So I will be honest, one of the reasons I have been having trouble getting rolling again is some discouragement around how to deal with the disparate power levels in the group. What is a challenge for Inhuman and Poco could potentially reduce most other team members to, to use a phrase Vosper's player likes, "a fine red mist". It is one of the issues with a random power system. Games like HERO, Supers!, and other point-buy/dice pool systems have everyone entering with the same amount of points. Couple that with a lot of recent stresses and I just keep being stuck...

Options:
1/ adapt: we have to.
2/ change: start over with a system of your choice.
3/ finish up: it's been great, but you're under no obligation.

That is always a problem with this genre. Some characters are more powerful than others. Some of this can be mitigated by equipment,  some by intelligent play and others by GM design.

For instance, in your game it is common for Poco and the Inhuman to get attacked two or three times or one. It helps balance things out and it makes sense that foes attack us. Part of the role of a brick is to eat attacks. The same thing happens in Champions. So in terms of combats, Poco and Inhuman often get KO'ed during the fight, and get pretty chewed up.

That said all the characters have some power.  No one is useless. Vosper could uses a defense versus hth, that alone would help alot. But the rest all seem solid. But I would be open to a fix where needed.

Another option is run more non combat. If the characters are out of combat they can focus on personality.

90% of my discontent has been due to die luck, and there's nothing a GM can do about that.

I am happy to continue and play with this gang anytime, anywhere.  If my life weren't so busy of late, I would be running a game of my own.

I'm with Vosper on this... my character is fine for what he does...and what he doesn't I'm working on inventions and power stunts to cover.

Underpowered? Dude, I got spells! I'm just trying to keep to a theme.
Besides, one of the things I like about playing this system is getting my tail handed to me. The point buy mechanics reduce the level of randomness in the game, almost to where the GM can say, "ok, this fight they lose, then they win this one." (yes, I've done that with the Hero system). One of the reasons life continues to have meaning is that I don't know what happens next, finding out is the biggest thrill I get.

C'mon, Vosp, run a game!!  :)

Uh, not sure what to tell you here, GM.  This was a really fun game & it worked well.

Supers games always have different power levels.  (No spoilers, but I just finished watching Jessica Jones, and it was awesome -- and much of it had that aspect as a theme.  JJ's friend Trish Walker -- amazing!)  My last heroine, BURN GRRL, had 7HP -- she was literally a 1-shot heroine!

Anyway, if you want to run, I'm always up for playing.

There are a few aspects you might want to consider if we resume:

1 - team may have to flee b/c can't beat villain / villain's team.  (or be captured & put into deathtraps, etc.  Superhero games are great for "you're all knocked out by death gas.  When you come to, you're all in super-restraints." etc.  Most RPG's never have main chars flee, but most TV shows do.)
2 - team needs to determine who goes vs whom, rather than GM calling it always.  If it's a bad matchup, like Batman vs Juggernaut, then Juggernaut will win.  If it's off, but workable, we'll see some fun roleplay.  Etc.
3 - villains need to get re-used & retooled.  You made some amazing villains, but then we never saw them again.  Why can't a baddie we caught break free, or bring in their friends, etc?

I think if you always try to come up w/new material w/o those guidelines, it's hard on you AND the team can't use judgement in battles.

Happy Holidays!  May you all have great vibes - Osc.
(PS:  Anyone watching Flash might've noticed Cisco is now "The Vibe".  Wish he was Oscillator, would've been a far more fitting name for his nerdiness -- but not for his powerset.  Meh.)

In reply to Oscillator (msg # 108):

Just wanted to comment that the group HAS faced two of the Soviet supers twice; Shroud and Usurper  ;)

I am still alive and I apologize profusely. I think about this game a lot and the extended hiatus it has been on. Things have been crazy since the holidays.....holidays are always crazy then shit at my job being crazy after that, my landlord saying he is selling the condo we are renting, scrambling to find new housing, finding a house, the whole mortgage process, worrying about something somehow putting the kibosh on it at the last minute (we close in 1 1/2 weeks), and my cousin just passing away at age 52.

It isn't an excuse but they do say losing housing, buying a home, the holidays, money worries, and a death are some of the bigger life stressors.....I have had the perfect storm. I really do want to continue but it might not be until the end of April by which time (if all goes well) I will have moved into the new house and gone on vacation to Florida to see my dad. I understand if that is a lot to ask but I wanted to at least let people know what has been up...

;-)      All good; be well, stay sane.

Totally understand.  At least interest rates are low, so not the worse time to buy a house.

Sorry but your cousin. That is awful young

I feel your pain.  I've been buried in my own stuff.  But I hope you're well and am always happy to game with you again, amigo!

"Fierce winds do not last all morning; torrential rains do not last all day."
When the weather breaks, this will be here, waiting.

"Fire is mankind's servant, but no one's friend."
...crave its warmth... but be prepared for its caress... the same holds true for running a game.

Yeah, I've been amazed at the attack on us, the working classes.

#Bernie2016 !

And hang in there, GM!

I am finally moved into my new house and with internet access. Back to work until I leave on 4/14 for Florida. I will be returning on 4/22 and have a medical procedure on 4/26. I am hoping once all this is done I will be able to get things rolling here...thanks for hanging around for me.

Sounds like a busy month. Hope it all goes well.

Ready when you are.

So back from Florida, medical procedure, and settling in to new home. Checking in to see how everyone else is doing and who is still floating about.

{Shrug}...I'm still here...

Aye

I'm here, and I haven't been to Florida since Bush was president.

I've never been to Florida.

I've been to paradiiisssse.
But I've never been tooo meeeee!

And by Paradise, I mean Gods Own Country, of course: Australia.
Best Bloody land in the world ... if you discount our fucking left-wing, sadistic fucking Politicians.

That and the fact that it seems like every 3rd critter is lethally or at least painfully venomous, land sea or air. Even the damn mammals. The snakes, spiders, ants, and jellyfish are bad enough. And don't forget the salties and the great whites... :p

And then there are our women.

Oh man, de wimin!
This message was last edited by the player at 07:14, Fri 13 May 2016.

Do you mean the women are one of the better points, or were you continuing to list the lethally or painfully venomous creatures?

A little from column A, a little from column B.

Ready to kick ass and take names!

What he said.

In reply to Poco Tehuantl (msg # 127):

Then why do all the women I know seem like fifth columnists.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 130):

Hang around better women...

What he said.

Some of our women are just plain poisonous.
But some of them are forces of nature; dangerous and powerful, but also loving and maternal.
Find the second, they'll help protect you from the first.

I see that Vosper has logged in but still waiting for a sign of Oscillator whose last login was a couple months ago...

I am sure Ossy will show up.

Probably busy with his small one, the first couple of years are always a challenge.

Busy with 3 1/2 yr old, getting laid off again in April (WTF??!!), and doing freelance gigs for IATSE union.

Hey, I'm back.  So... now what?

@Sword -- glad you're feeling better & got a place.  That's a good thing.

So something that might kickstart my feeble brain: It is late 1964 at this point (with all that means back in the Cold War). Maybe everyone could throw out *one* idea of something they might see happening during that year that could be a hook for the next mission.

I want to roll and it is crazy to see it has already been 2 weeks passed!

Oh, in response to a post from Oscillator a couple pages back the team *has* encountered some of the baddies a couple times (Shroud and Usurper) and Red Sledgehammer is still in custody (or is he....muahahahahaha!!!). I am sure one or more of the others will be seen again. :)

I have a suggestion...

Why don't we not put the old characters away permanently just temporarily and try a recipe from the Marvel Studios bag of tricks with the X-Men franchise.

Meaning.. lets make up a set of young meta-human kids of this era.. and play through a scenario as they discover their powers and decide what they are going to do with them... that might allow YOU 'Sword' to get some "seed" ideas for a new story with our "Avengers" {A-Team} of characters...?  Some story elements might be the introduction of a new Third player in the international zero-sum game of world control between the US and Russia.. say a power mad Meta-human world-corquering class meta-human who is trying  one way or another to recruit young meta-human in a bid to make his own army of super-powered soliders to try to raise meta-humanity above the mundane human controlled nations.. very much a Magneto / Mister Sinester kind of foe.

How the kids deal with his agents and deal with who they turn to perhaps a non-government third choice say an institute for meta-human reserch... like in the New Universe Comic "DP-7"?  Not really a; "let's make the X-Men story", but to tell a derivative story about the non-solider meta-humans in the world and how they deal with living in a world in the grip of a cold war between the superpower nations... and the rise of meta-human supremicist and anti-metahuman sentiments.

I think this might be an excellent tool for generating some additional "flesh", and meat for the main storyline.  Some world-building Role-play.

And just think.. in one more year, 1965.. Star Trek premiers on TV-CBS!

While that sounds really interesting I honestly don't think I have the chops to pull off something that ambitious. Between work, my daughter, and my partner I don't have a ton of time to devote and that would be a serious creative effort to pull off. Nevermind going through the whole character generation process and the potential negotiations around powers like Mutant Power, Body Power, etc. ;)

In reply to Sword of Damocles (msg # 139):

{Shrug}...sorry, you asked for ideas... and I just don't do small.  I'm always.. if your gonna do something.. "It must be COOL and big-story.. or why are you bothering?"

Just two weeks ago.. I started my Sit-down star wars game with my 7-players roster.
Everyone kabitzed for about an hour and asked a few final questions about character generation..we're using Star Wars D20, but when everyone was seated and ready to go... I started by playing the STAR WARS: Revenge of the Sith Soundtrack intro and read my intro... just like in the movies!


STAR WARS

IMPERIAL SCIONS

“The Galaxy is at war!  The flames of rebellion against the Emperor’s New Order of the Galactic Empire have caught fire across the galaxy.  A once rag-tag rebel fleet has become an all-encompasing Alliance of Dissident worlds.”

“The Imperial Fleet has moved its operations to the Forest Moon of Endor Where the Emperor has come to personally oversee the completion of the Second Death Star to cement an even tighter grip on the galaxy!  But the Rebel Alliance is not the only enemy of the Galactic Empire, a Desperate distress call comes from the Outer Rim, warning of an invasion by a horrific alien species.”

“There in that remote region of space… a hastily arrayed Imperial flotilla, Engages the Ssi-ruuk: a saurian species bent on the conquest of the peaceful World of Cerea and the enslavement of all other species.  The Imperial forces are Cast in the 'unfamiliar' roles of saviors; as they are the only hope for this embattled world… and yet events in the galaxy are in inexorable motion that will set the stage for a tumultuous future for the galaxy.”

“As the pitch space battle rages the Imperial forces will soon have to choose what Destiny to follow…”

This game takes place just before the Emperor dies at Endor.. and in fact the players ARE the Imperials and must decide what to do when news of the emperor's death reaches them and 15 different communications are received demanding they support one Grand Admiral, Admiral, Grand Moff or Moff declaring himself the new 'Emperor' or leader of the 15 or more fragment 'warlords' of the Galactic Empire!  What will the PC's do with their fully armed and crewed Imperial I - Star Destroyer, who will they support.. or will they form their own warlord fragment?!? :)

YES in classic STAR WARS fashion I opened the game with them in a pitched space battle... actually Played the music for the intro to 'Revenge of the Sith' and read the intro script. My first GM action... "Roll for initiative Imperials!" - Using D20 Star Wars.

...total sandbox game! Its gonna be AWESOME!

My player's reactions.. I blew their damned socks off! Even my very first DM who I EVER played a role-playing game with is a player in the game and he had nothing but praise and complements on my execution and pacing of the massive space battle.

I don't do 'small' story...
This message was last edited by the player at 23:03, Wed 08 June 2016.

In reply to Sunphoenix (msg # 140):

You make a good point and in thinking about it Dale (Vosper's player) had a V&V game that IMO was much more epic than mine but he isn't doing it anymore because of life and not having the energy to be as creative as he would like. I don't see a whole lot of people out there looking to GM a V&V game and it is entirely likely for the same reasons; life gets real real and you just don't have the juice to make the game go.

Twice per week at best is probably the most I can post at this point and I know that makes for a slow-pace game.....not the best thing for a supers game. Maybe it is the writing on the wall, maybe I don't have the time or the stones for this and supers (while I enjoy the genre) is not one of the easier types of games to run. I cut my teeth on oldschool D&D with mere dabbles into running and playing supers back in the day.

I certainly don't want players feeling "meh" about a game, especially a supers game. While I don't want it to end at the same time I don't know that I can give people what they are looking for in a game. I don't have the time/ability to give it my all or even close to my all and I know that.....maybe it is better for the game to end than for it to be "meh" because I don't want people being disappointed that a game is not being fun or having that WOW factor due to my efforts or lack thereof...
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:27, Wed 08 June 2016.

In reply to Sword of Damocles (msg # 141):

I know exactly what you mean.. I had the idea for this Imperial Scions game more than 10 years ago!  Me and my local friends who I've gamed with have talked about this game idea for years and only in the last few months has my schedule opened to the point I could actually run it the way I want it run.  Originally, I had thought to run it in WEG D6 Star Wars... but we decided to go with D20 for balance issues.

BUT.. that said that is just MY writing playing/Gaming style.. I like to go big story.. but that is not to say YOU must.  Heck look at the V&V modules you have in your hand and then ponder...what would happen if one of those adventures..say like oh.. perhaps~ "From the Depths of Space" took place in New York City.. during Nuclear Disarmament "Salt" talks with the Russians while both the US and Russian meta-human superteams were there providing 'security'?  Yeah you would need a hell of a lot more Cappellan invaders but Damn.. what a fight that would be?!?

You could then STEAL various supervillians or superheroes from other sources and rename them to protect the 'guilty'.. setting them up as a Cappellan Imperial Guard... just like the Shai'Ar from MARVEL; the Cappellan mission? To secure the earth as a Vital Hyperspace lane in their war with some alien empire they are currently in war with.

... ok yeah that's kinda big story as well {snicker}.. but it uses stuff already made up and gives us a big-assed foe to fight.. and could potentially take your 60's world in an interesting direction with the intro of aliens and space travel... certainly not boring or Meh, cause what the players do suddenly becomes VERY important to plot!

...but my point is that is just one idea.. look at your existing adventures and repurpose them...in the context of your Cold War universe... should give you some interesting ideas~! :)
This message was last edited by the player at 23:47, Wed 08 June 2016.

In reply to Sunphoenix (msg # 142):

I don't own any V&V modules aside from the one that came with the box set back in the 80's (Crisis at Crusader Citadel).

Ideas:
- run a game where we all loose our powers, and have to handle stuff as Mundanes temporarily.
- convince one of us to 'play it evil' for one story.  This would be unknown to the other PCs until they figured it out, then it would be 'capture the rogue'.  It could be the result of mind control, or blackmail, or a body snatcher.
- send us into space; lock us into an secluded environment that we can't leave from.  Then either make us fight our way out, or maybe just survive till help comes.
- throw a natural disaster at us, instead of bad guys.
- do the old, swap our powers around, so we each have someone else's powers temporarily (or do a body swap) ... all I ask is that whoever gets Eddie's body, do lick yourself, it's absolutely worth the experience.
- inflict a whole wad of flaws on us as our powers start to go haywire ... but the mission still needs to be completed, somehow.
- demand that we use experimental (and unstable/unreliable new research) equipment during the mission and report back on its effects.
- send us to another dimension or time.
- turn us all into animals.


As for GMing VnV; no way.   I'll play, but there are, in my humble, much better systems.   For the same reason as VnV, I'd not run DnD or Rolemaster or GRPS.  They are all just so freaking bogged down in mechanics.
I like simple systems:   Like the roll x # of dice, count the evens/5-6's/etc as successes, and if you have enough success, you acheive.


I also like big and epic, but only after building up from the small and personal.  I think players benefit from a small 'world' focused on their character ... then slowly build the world up as you go, till eventually the character/s are saving themselves, then the city, then the world.

It's 1964, just read a little history and twist the characters into the middle of it
1. There were multiple nuclear tests (from multiple nations) at the Nevada Test Site in 1964, perhaps one of the tests manages to generate giant ants that must be eradicated (ironically, the movie Them! came out in 1954).
2. Race riots abound, throw the characters into the middle of one.
3. Perhaps the characters need to investigate some of those new music acts, the way they have the girls swooning must be due to some form of mind control! (The Beatles and The Rolling Stones first toured the states in 1964)
4. Che Guevarra was speaking at the United Nations, and someone fired at the building (rocket or something), perhaps the characters should track down the suspect?

That was the easy part. I'm failing miserably at the hard part elsewhere, already.

I can understand this. While it isn't one of the crunchiest supers systems V&V does have a level of complexity and mechanics that can be *busy* for lack of a better word.

That is one of the reasons I like Supers! Revised Edition. It is a d6 dice-pool game with straightforward mechanics and a lot of flexibility while still remaining towards the light side of rules-medium.

Of course everyone here HAS V&V and not everyone has Supers! Revised Edition so even were I inclined to use a different system it is not reasonable to expect people to be willing to shell out the $$ for the pdf.

If you're looking for plot ideas, there's more here than I could ever suggest:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964

As for my being a more 'epic' GM than you... bah.  I ran a good game.  But it took work.  And when Real Life ^TM went to shit, I just didn't have time for it.

I never did delete that game because i would love to pick it up again someday.  But today is not that day, sadly. :(

So here I am again.....2 months away from my last real posting. I need to try and get this game rolling again and I am up in the mountains on vacation this week. Without work and home I have some more time to engage in conversation about where the game can go and to get things rolling. The team would be 6 people because Onyx's player has not logged in since September 2015. I appreciate the ideas people put out and I figure I can come up with something for the next mission if people are wanting to move forward (I certainly understand if with all the hiatus and delays if people aren't interested in continuing though.)

I'm still interested, I'll always be here.
Someday I may have to get one of those real life things people talk about.

I remain.

In reply to Sword of Damocles (msg # 148):

Yep, I'm still interested as well...

The Commies aren't go to defeat themselves.



Says a guy who did not live through the collapse of the Soviet Union

@Sword, so do you feel motivated?

Looks like we had our break & most/all of us are ready to go for more...?

I am working on it. Surprised to not have heard anything from Vosper's player yet, hope everything is going OK on his end. If needed I reckon I could NPC Vosper if I don't hear anything back soonish, otherwise that would have the team down to 5 (with Onyx's player having not been around in a LONG while).


In other news I don't know if people are aware/interested but Monkey House Games just put up the Kickstarter for V&V 3.0: https://www.kickstarter.com/pr...otectors/description

I have already put in my 2 cents (well, a BIT more than that...). :)

Have not made a decision on new edition. Love VnV not a big fan of Jeff Deerfield at this point. But in the end I'll likely bite the bullet.

I'm still alive, just swamped.  Will try to join in if this gets moving again! ;)

Old gang back together again.

Here's a totally whacked idea, bc I like all our characters & so on...

What if we fast forward time 20-30 years, and our characters are now super old & way more experienced ... and retired.  (Unless someone is ageless, in which case they are fine.)

We all roll up new characters, and we get mentored by our old characters...?

Sometimes it's just hard to pick up the old players & get things moving again.

Although I guess Vosper could help in that regard.

Hey wait a second, I'm playing Oscillator!  If I can't get things shaking again...!!!

In Eddy's case, the Poco Tehuantl spirit may have moved on to a new avatar, and Eddy would simply be a very tough old coot.

You could have his Poco stats be the same, but when he's Eddy, he's an old geezer...?   :)

Sure.
Or the PT spirit has moved on to a new host; but Eddy is a crotchety old 'retired hero' for either the new PT, or any other new hero.

Maybe one of the current PC's would pick up the new incarnation.

I didn't get much play time as it is with Sun Phoenix.. I'd rather stick with him. Plus, with his Adaption power... I'd bet.. if he is not effectively immortal he ages so slowly as to make little difference anyways.

It's really kind of more about what inspires the GM.  I'm happy to keep us in the swingin' 60's, or not, as he wishes.

Vos is only 21.  Depending on how far we advanced, she could still be active.

Nah, I am gonna stay in the 60's.....too much easy technology available in the later years. That is one reason a WW2 set game is nice, less *easy answer* technology....no cell phones, computers, infrared goggles, man-portable radar, etc.

Anyhow I have a plan I just need to re-invent the wheel for statistics for a few different things that don't really exist anywhere in the rules for the upcoming mission.

That's good. I was trying to envision Nightmare as he grew older, and decided he was one of those mystic heroes that is slowly corrupted by the power he wields. In the decade after working for the government during the cold war, Nightmare retires and moves to the entertainment industry where he becomes instrumental in developing a new musical genre. It would be mostly pop music, typically soul-influenced and melodic with a regular bass beat; perfect stuff for dancing to at nightclubs with neon lit floors and spinning mirror-surfaced balls.

Honestly I'm happy with that.  The 60's are kind of what gave this game its "feel".

At SOME point a time jump might be fun... but given how long we've been dormant, I'm not sure NOW is that time.

Anyway, I think the GM's call is most important. ;)

I really like playing in a different era. Slowly moving through the decade like we have is quite cool. The sixties are a time of tremendous change and like the characters in Madmen, our supers will get to experience it.

Muldoon is going to love hippies.

Heck! Nightmare's almost Timothy Leary already!

I am honestly surprised that is is *Oscillator* I am waiting for a post from...

Right?

Whaddaya bet he's lost track of time in the lab, again?

I posted!  I posted!

So now what?

Read message #329 here: link to a message in this game and follow the instructions at the bottom. :p

I also just posted in the appropriate thread.    :)

I needed a minute to recover the inner voice of an absent minded professor, which is a challenge bc I'm so present and non-professorial.

Errr, now what was I doing...?

Of course you WOULD post *today*, when I am still in my work week. :p

I will look to get a situation explanation post up sometime tomorrow.

For all of you complaining about a lack of Intel, Muldoon has gone to the future to bring back some live footage.

https://youtu.be/WsQVdrillxA

The 3.0 kickstarter is going quite well so far. Just hit another stretch goal so a $55 pledge nets you the hardcover copy of the rulebook plus the PDF as well as PDFs of the WW2 Sourcebook, Market Forces adventure, Situation Room adventure, Crisis at Crusader Citadel and Intercrime conversions, and the Referee screen. If you think about what the PDFs alone of all those things would cost at DrivethruRPG not including the hardcover rulebook that is a pretty sweet deal.

If I had a spare $55, I'd do it.

Right now, $$$ are tight.

Just had job intvw, fingers crossed.

I'm totally in favor of sharing...?

I am planning on backing. Have some issues with Jeff, but big fan of the game so will not cut my nose off to spite my face. Have not decide yet what level.

Been there. Good luck.

I have to apologize for my less frequent posts.  I have a new freelance gig where when I'm working its 10-12hrs and no internet, can be a few days straight.

Used to have a desk job, easier to post frequently.  That was a few years back.  :)

Makes it easier for the rest of us to keep up. :) Hopefully you are making overtime.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 21:53, Mon 05 Sept 2016.

After noting what actually is accomplished on a routine basis by my peers and myself for several decades, I've decided the paychecks are the company's way of purchasing your time. What they do with it when they get it is usually of no consequence.

I think Nightmare will load up, offensively, for this mission. Taking some extra ammo

• Current Load Out
  

  Weapon:	To Hit Modifier:	Damage Caused:	range
  nightstick	+6	1d6 + 1d4 + 7	hand to hand
  Bolas1	+7	1d6 + 1d3 + 7	21" range
  Pistol, left2	+7	1d8 + 7	126" range
  Pistol, right2	+7	1d8 + 7	126" range
  Sniper Rifle w/ x4 scope, bipod3	+14	1d10 + 84	378" range

  
  
  ¹also causes entanglement (GM fiat)
  ²Carrying six 7-round magazines (two already in the pistols)
  ³At a quarter mile (264"), +3 to hit, 1d10 + 8 damage. (+7 if Aiming for 1 action)
  ⁴Six shot magazine, two clips contain 'sleep bullets' (1d6+8 damage with paralysis payload attack), and three clips contain standard ammunition (1d10+8 damage)

This message was last edited by the GM at 04:34, Mon 05 Sept 2016.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 183):

You might consider some incendiary or termite greandes... maybe a flame thrower.

I think we need a new thread for the Transport craft discussion...

Re-opened old thread here: link to a message in this game

Anyone ever get the sense that our team is fragmented?  Ha

I hope we all play towards friendship IC and ooc.  I apologize again,  as I have before occassionally, if Oscillator seems like an ass.

I imagine a bow-tie wannabe Nobel prize-seeking nerd who got powers and now wants to be a nerd again but can't.

Your job, team, is to help Osc bust out of his nerd shell.  That may be impossible,  however.

What are your Character's motivations / goals?
Can we assist?

In reply to Oscillator (msg # 187):

Nah, Lance knows Ozzy sometimes misses the more important social ques of being a polite person because he's always looking at the big picture and paying attention to the details that make it worth looking at.

Lance knows Muldoon is a career military man.. but for Lance he personally does not feel that kind of 'trust' in the government anymore like he use to.  Which is why for Lance.. he's DONE with being a military man!  He knows that will clash with the Ser. Major.. A LOT!  But HE is also 100% certain... that Muldoon is one of the good guys.. and he'd NEVER question if he was going to stay one of the good guys. Lance will ALWAYS have Muldoon's back.. even if they Argue all the time!

People just have different views to bring to the table. Lance is a little.. ok maybe a lot bitter about how the US government has 'seemed' {to him at least} started adopting tactics and policy's that the Russians use!  He sees that a slow slide into a corruption and a implacable totalitarian state.  Lance wants to use his powers for ALL MANKIND... not just the US Government as They see fit!

But he knows all the smite team members are STILL heroes .. so he stays hoping to keep the group honest by continually bringing up the uncomfortable Moral and Ethical points of view to keep us questioning if what were doing is right and or should be doing at all...

It was a joke. I could not understand the post in or out of character. It seemed mystical and philosophical. It was not meant to be an insult. Soldiers joke with their team mates.

Nightmare's thought processes are different, and I'm attempting to play that up more as the game progresses. Sort of like developing the Yeti transformation, it is intended that Nightmare drift further from normal humanity as time passes. I thought Nightmare's oblique response to Muldoon mentioning a fortune cookie worked properly.

That was my feeling as well. Glad I played it right.


This is the 1960s and I like to stick to that flavor. Think Nightmare' sort of beatnik/ hippie vibe is a great thing to play off Muldoon's square persona.

Also why I referred to chop sued.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:03, Fri 23 Sept 2016.

I didn't see it as a joke, but merely Nightmare morphing to a more unpredictable, rando dude.  Sorta like Poco.  HA HA

Vosper, Muldoon, Sunphoenix, osc (me), we are predictable...

Where is Bug Lord, Ant Queen, or Might Morphin' Dung Beetle when we need 'em?

I love to play bug-themed characters...

Antenna Head Fred
The Mandible
Chitin Carapace
Larva Supreme
Auntie Ant
Battle Beetle
Oh Bugger
Lady Lice
BedBug
etc.

Anyone else got any winners?
This message was last edited by the player at 12:51, Wed 05 Oct 2016.

I've tried The Tick, but couldn't pull it off.

The Tick had some *Great* writing.
:)

Mighty Might
Spider Spy
Fire Flea
Magna Gnat (Magnat?)
Rocket Roach
Feral Fly
Magic Maggot

etc
This message was last edited by the player at 16:04, Thu 06 Oct 2016.

Many insects have names that can be used directly:
• Sand Dragon
• Beewolf
• Robber Fly
• Vampire Moth

I'm kinda waiting on Damocles... to get some idea of what I found at the LZ...before I post.. since it seems I'm likely to get there first.

...we may need a new thread for the venue of this arrival on scene...

to SunPhoenix + others
Oh yeah, me too. Can't go before the scene is laid out.
I'm just trying to keep the game alive.

Possible other bug heroes /villains we might face:
giAnt or mutAnt
A deadly giant bee named "Pollenator".
One of my fav rpol heros was MoSqUiTo, a hero with Height Speed (the superfast one) and Absorb Powers.  So sick!!!

Seriously, imagine having to fight a villain named Lousy Larry who had only powers related to pests, infestation, and disease.  Yucky!!!
:)

Maybe the first intelligent giant ant rises up and calls itself,
Defender of the AntHill?

Would have a righteous beef, that's for sure!

I just figured out how we can finish these guys off in no time flat! We just need an enormous magnifying glass!

I think we need to call the superhero version of Raid or Terminix!  Orkin Man!

I just wanted to let you guys know, my father passed away last Sunday from congestive heart failure.  He wasn't in any pain.  I was able to bring the kids and my wife to see him two days prior and he was lucid and happy to see us.  That was basically goodbye.  The next day he slipped into a coma.

My wife and I were with him the night before he passed, but he never regained consciousness.

Please forgive my slow posting of late.  I will get back on track when I can.

Dude, don't even sweat it. Take whatever time you need for yourself and your family, the game will be here. I am sorry to hear about your dad.

I'm really sorry to hear that, my friend.
May the love be with you, and yours, at this time.

I'm very sorry for your loss. I lost my step dad that way, and my dad is going down the same road. I am so happy you and your family had a chance to say good bye. I hope all the good memories help you heal.

Vosper, sorry to hear that.

Wow, you have really had a lot of stuff going on..!  Full plate?

My heart goes out to you & your family.

Hang in there, buddy!  - Osc

Wow Vos.. so sorry to hear about your father... deepest condolences!

I know how that feels... my grandpa Austin, went somewhat in a similar fashion.  About two years ago.  Grandpa has dementia.. and he had trouble remembering who anyone was... we had to put him in assisted living.. and dad was always running out there to make sure they were treating him well {which sometimes they were not}... he'd forget to clean himself and eat.  Then dad told me he was slipping away faster not remembering very much past a day or so... and he asked me one week if I wanted to go with him to see grandpa... something told me I should, even though I'd seen him many times.  So my dad and his brother.. my uncle Austin {named after my grandpa}.. all went one weekend to see him.

And he remembered us all... it was a good weekend!  The four Wathen men.. all toghter.. we had a great time.  He died a week later.  It like he was ready to go.. but I still miss him terribly sometimes..  I wish .. I'd stayed longer if I'd know it was goodbye.

... sorry tearing up here.. but I know what you mean.. take your time, post when you can.

So the good news is we have baby #2 (girl) due in Nov.

Bad news is I'm still working freelance jobs, haven't landed a regular gig since I was laid off in April.

We have enough $$$ to get by, but we're not flush or anything.

But it's such an exciting time.  I love being a Dad, it's such a surprising reward.

Thought I'd like other rewards more (money, tons of sex, success, acknowledgement of my genius, etc) -- seems like I was wrong.

Thought I'd mention wassup w/me.

(I'm also completely disgusted by the "grab the pu*sy" candidate.)

Congratulations on the little one on the way. Two makes it easier later.

I ended up without a job after my second child. Was a rough year but was happy in hind sight to have spent so much time with her.

Thank you all.  It's appreciated.

Take care, Vos.   Your going through a rough time, and our thoughts are with you.


Congrats, Osc.   Fatherhood had always been the best part of me and my life.
I knew I wanted to be a dad since I was a young man.   It took me 20+ years to find the right woman, though. And now I have THE child I've waited most of my life for.   And she was worth the wait; she is my very heart.

What date are you expecting?  My birthday is Nov 7th.

If the baby is born on the 7th you can name the baby Poco

Ironically, I just rediscovered my 'Bareback at Big Sky' album. Mostly because last time I was reading posts, Poco reminded me I used to listen to Poco.
It's a pretty good record.

I'll consider that as a nickname, but she's due mid Nov - guesstimate is 11/17.

Maggot Mage
Parasite Gal
The Lost Locust
Grey Moth
Wolf Beetle
Killer Bee

uh...

WhirlWeb
Sally Syringe
Bionic Butterfly
Kid Flea

etc

Sally Syringe ?!?

Sounds more like a zombie who requires a special diet of the drug she overdosed on!

Good luck with the new baby, Osc!

a) Awww, u read it.

b) hey, it's easy to criticize, but it's hard to create.   BRING IT, bugname hero contest ON!!!

Captain Redback
Yellow Jacket
Antroid
Assassin Bug
The Pincer Prince
Pleasing Fungus
Sting
Flutterby
The Mothman
Insector Gadget
MANtis
Enema Pan

Bugnames are SO last Thursday, though.

New game, fanboy.
Zombie Hero names:

Undead Fred
Sally Syringe
Daredevil Deadman
Sharen Shambles ("Does she?")
Death's Head
Rodney Rottingham
Rhianna Mated
NecroNancy
Voodoo Child
Cannabis Corpse
Dave McGrave
Ambula-Torrie
Necro Sapien
Wormbait

In reply to Poco Tehuantl (msg # 220):

Are these baby name ideas?

Hehe.   Just trying to help our brother out!

OK team, using these lists (& your own creativity), we now have a bunch of names for our opponents!!!

GIants /mutANTS was a good start, but "Muldoon, you run in & punch Pincer Prince while I try to distract it!

Vosper & Poco take Captain Redback!

Nightmare & Phoenix can battle Insector Gadget!" sounds AWESOME, no?

Just wish that kinda craziness was in character for the vibra-nerd.   Meh

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm already writing up Insector Gadget.

So are we gonna shoot us some Wormbait & Sting?

Are we stuck in limbo?

Note: baby #2 due in Nov, so I will likely go dark for awhile, so I can bask in the light of baby girl time.   :)

Jealous, much.

In reply to Oscillator (msg # 225):

I've been fortunate, three boys. So I can be honest and quote Buzz Lightyear to say, "you have my pity."
Boys tick you off, make you worry, then turn into men and make you proud. Girls tick you off, make you worry, then find another guy to be their sun and moon so they leave and break your heart.

I have three girls. I like having daughters because they can do anything. Play sports, play dolls, wear princess dresses and play army. Plus they will always be at your house on the holidays.

In light of Vosper's player's dad passing I have been waiting a bit. I don't want to start a major battle when he may not be up for posting at the moment.

Don't wait on me.  I'm fine. ;)

Sword, are we on the tarmac or still in the air?

Are we on the wickety WHACK?

So, while we're waiting, I'll pass along my highly curated list of good Android games.

• Combat Monsters
• Marvel Puzzle Quest
• Underworld (new CCG)
• Mabinogi Duel
• WazHack
• Pathfinder Adventures

Anyone wanna rec me their favs?
This message was last edited by the player at 04:11, Sun 30 Oct 2016.

Hey Everyone... my mom died the night before last... and I'm dealing with it.  She went in her sleep and is no longer in pain...so I'm ok about it..but I'll probably be a little slow in my postings for a bit.

Thank you.

Ouch.....man, 2016 has been a BITCH so far regarding death.

I am sorry to hear about your loss Sunphoenix, make sure you take care of yourself.

Very sorry for your loss. No matter how prepared we may be for something like that it is still one of the toughest things we go through in life. I hope good memories help you in this hard time.

Sorry buddy.  Sending you good thoughts.

All the best, man.  Know how it is.  Hang in there!

Thank you for your support folks.. I REALLY appreciate it! :)

Wife due any day with baby girl.  Child #2, grand finale for us (unless an accident later).

Super excited.

Hope you are all doing well (& managing our new US of TrumpLandia fiasco).

Two of our three were surprises for the wife and I, all five years apart.
I try not to read anything into it, myself.

I got cut when during third pregnancy.

Assuming you mean a vasectomy & not a "cut my junk off" surgery?

I believe the difference between the two is mostly the skill of the surgeon.

Just made an antiTrump song.  Listen -- if you won't be offended?  (Or don't hassle me if you are, you've been warned.)

https://m.soundcloud.com/rekzkarz/no-trump

Actually, every time I saw the signs I heard this same song. Like the one from the Mary Poppins movie about feeding the birds:

"Screw them all
Trump/Pence for prez
Trump/Pence, Trump/Pence,
Trump/Pence for prez"

I fear for the future, mates.

Hope you are all well.  Or as well as you can be.  It seems this game is once again on hold.  But it's okay, we remain comrades-in-V&V. ;)

 Yes just a vasectomyear. Lol

Dangerous times

I'm disappointed that the game is slow during the mutANT attack, but ...

I'm now the happy Dad of Lola Jade, born  11/17.  So I'm not sure I have time for posting anyway!

Future -- had the realization that it's ALWAYS uncertain.  We assume tomorrow will be like today bc we have slow (fast?) social & tech development, but maybe truth is forward and backwards movement, like a heartbeat or stock market, and bc we only live max 100yrs, it's hard to see the ... oscillation.

Doh!

Maybe Osc's next invention let's him see the future using his vibe power?  Ha
This message was last edited by the player at 16:37, Sat 19 Nov 2016.

Congrats on the baby!

Wow. Congratulations.

With my youngest already 12, I have to say I am a bit jealous. Enjoy.

Indeed congrats fella!

I'm really excited.  She's so pretty, even at 3 days.  Wife is much better too, but still in bed 3 days & another 4 days rec'd by midwife.

Home birth -- it's awesome.  (& can be scary too...)

A very good friend of mine is a mid wife here in the Bay Area, had I known her when my girls were born I would have loved to have gone with that option. Glad your wife is well.

Honestly, for inish, you COULD just make one roll and have the ants all act together - they ARE supposed to have a 'Hive Mind', right?  Would simplify inish greatly...

(Moved this here...)

I will probably just have an average roll for both the worker and warrior ants and have them act as such. The team can do regular rolls if they like or take average for ease of reference. Everyone would get 2 actions at least that way although it is possibly the ants could act before some people.

Shhh!  Not actually coming out of retirement, or anything, but.

Sunphoenix -- I'm very sorry. *hug*  There really aren't words.

And congratulations to Osc!  This is about the same time of year your son was born, isn't it?  It's cool to have the birthdays close together.  Both of our kids are in May, so some years, when they agree on something, they can do one big party together, and those are always fun.

In reply to Amaranth (msg # 257):

Uh... Thanks? :)

You must be an old player.. I'm not familiar with you.. but thank you for the sentiments... they are appreciated!

If you have the time.. come back to the game... the more the merrier! :)

Waiting on Nightmare and Oscillator to post. No hurry, especially as I know Oscillator's player is a new daddy but just wanted to put it out there. :)

I'm up?!?  Oh hell yeah!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and Happy Holidays to those who don't! Hope everyone is having a good holiday season!

And to you, sir.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Merry Christmas

Happy Season of Peace and Giving.

Sorry to hold you up.. but my internet has been delayed until this Wednesday or Thursday.. holiday conflicts.  I'll post as soon as I can.

Hey.. I'm back but there has been no update from Sword.. we need a post from you boss!

Are any of you ... real?

Or is this all just a ... memory?

:)

Treasure the memory

First one to start singing that song from Cats gets to eat my porkpie hat.

Is there a big, black, nasty cat in that show?
I guess that fits me.

Is Sword gonna reply some day?

Some day is vague enough that I can guess the answer is yes.

Whether that will be 2017, that's another question.

So... are we dead here?

Not dead. Those were undead, like my...

I almost went full Henny Youngman on that.

Never give up on freedom and the American way.

What about the African way?
Or the Indian way?

Sunny, from my POV ... put a fork in him, he's done.

BUT I keep my hopes up that the superpowered will eventually win!

My other game which is sorta dead has us fighting undead, so at least we are grappling with the dead/undead idea IN the game.  :)

Meanwhile, Guardians of the Galaxy V2 in May!  YAY

Wonder why this game has not been deleted... wish it were still running... never got to find out if Sunphoenix could charm his way into Vos' bed! lol! :)

I think it hasn't been deleted because I still look in at it from time-to-time with a sense of nostalgia...

I don't think just looking at it saves it from the autodelete function, but posting in it does.  Otherwise it's just some weird function of time relative to how many posts there were, I think?

I'm pretty sure the GM has to mark the game for deletion.  At least that's been the case in my games.

All the games I tanked hung around till I deleted them. The horrible part is the number of times I logged on and checked in to see if I'd bothered to post something within the week prior to actually deleting the game.

Well... I mean, it's not really important.  The GM can delete the game with a snap of their fingers, more or less, but I do know that if you just leave one alone for a long time it will eventually delete itself.

Anyway, since we're all here, how is everybody?

I'm Doing ok.. I sadly do not play much V&V anymore, not from dislike just no interest in the local folks.  Dominic was running his night city game at the V& V site.. but when he basically stopped .. my most interesting input for V&V kinda fizzled.. that and THIS game basically folding. 'Shrug'... everyone I know keeps pushing for playing Mutants & Masterminds.  I don't even log into the V& V site regularly anymore.

So... what do you all think of the AVENGERS: ENDGAME movie? :)

N O    S P O I L E R S !!!


I liked it.  It was a nice finale; a nice tie up.

I haven't even seen Infinity War yet. *sigh*  My partner wanted to wait until Endgame came out to see them together, despite our kids, who have seen it, telling us many times that we're going to want some time to process.

If people do want to talk about it in a more detailed spoilery way, though, do feel free!  Just please warn me so I can skip those posts. grin

(And thanks for thinking about that, Poco!  You were always my favorite.  Hehe...)


I'm sorry to hear that, Sunphoenix!  I've never tried M&M, but a lot of people do seem to like it.

If it were possible for Eddy to purr and blush at the same time, he ....

Oh, well there you go, he can!
Purr.  Purr.  Purr.

(I hope it was obvious that Eddy had a crush on Amy.
I hoped, one day, to make a post in which he climbed up beside her, knocked her coffee off the table affectionately, and curled up on her keyboard while she was trying to work)


I think Infinity War one night and Endgame the next would be plenty of time to process.
And just the right amount of anticipation, too.

In reply to Poco Tehuantl (msg # 287):

I Hear you man... as for strong heroic women go.. yeah.. they are Terribly appealing!  What sane man can resist a strong willed capable woman?  If Lance would have thought Eddy had feelings for Vos/Eloise he certainly would have backed off.  Cause Eddy's known her much longer... and for some new guy to sweep in and start showing interest...well.. Lance's sense of Honor and propriety would not allow him to act in such a fashion.. he liked Eddy.. and kinda felt a little sorry he could not look human or that society as a whole would not really accept him the way he looked. I mean Lance knows hows that feels being a black man in the 50's!  But I don't think Sunphoenix/Lance ever met Amy?

As for The Movie ENDGAME ~ Absolutely not.. no Spoilers!  THAT movie is soo good.. I'd NEVER want to ruin anyone's first time high of watching it hit all the Avenger's mark EVERYONE has wanted to see for so long!
This message was last edited by the player at 15:48, Mon 29 Apr 2019.

Not Vos.
Eddy thought of Vos like a big sister .... not a ‘girl’.
No Eddy had a crush on Amaranth.

And funnily enough, Eddy had just developed a ‘Stunt’ that would allow him to disconnect from the Tehuanl spirit briefly.
It cost him a lot of PP to do so, and he couldn’t regain PP regressed as he’d be; and it left him effectively human (no Powers) ... but he could do so for a few hours.

Hey y'all!  Didn't know you were chatting again.  FUN!

I've seen Infinity War a bunch, and was sadly disappointed with Captain Marvel (just didn't think it was much of anything), but am anticipating enjoying Endgame.   3hrs!?!?  Whoa.

Also want to see Shazam.   It looks good in the same vein that Aquaman was good -- funny, doesn't take itself too seriously, etc.

I didn't really like any of the gritty attempts by DC to 'go dark' -- ie Dark Knight, Superman vs Batman, Titans tv show, etc.   I watch the Titans show though b/c I'm committed to fandom of Teen Titans, and strangely I love Teen Titans Go! (cartoon show) so much more than this ridiculous show.  Luckily I have kids now, so I can offer as an excuse that they love the show.  HA HA

I also like the Teeny Titans Go Figure mobile game, which is preposterously ridiculously funny and fun. -- and not very hard.

I really wanted to like Doom Patrol TV show, but instead think it sucks.

But I saw Legion season 1 & 2 last year, and I still think that may be my fav superhero TV show of all time.  It was SooOOooOOoo good.

And then there was Deadpool (so awesome), and DP 2 (pretty funny also).  If you haven't seen DP 2, be sure to watch a preview before watching the movie.  X-force!!!

---

And I hear you on no V&V.  Me neither, all my rpol games croaked & I got married & had kids, so no RPG group anymore either.

Ho hum.

So in the interest of disclosure, life took a big swing back at the end of 2016/beginning of 2017. I left one relationship and committed to a new one, moving in with the person. I have been doing a lot of personal growth work and stepped away from many things I used as coping mechanisms such as large amounts of PC gaming. It is amazing too how being happy and involved in a relationship can take away time previously used for PC gaming and RPGs. I just don't have the amount of time to sit down and update games, come up with plotlines, and keep on top of one or more games. Life definitely has a way of taking over and I am closing on a home tomorrow (my 3rd try, let's hope 3 times is the charm) and am getting married on 6/21....no kids impending, my fiancee came with one and mine is going to be 27. I think fondly about the game which is one reason I never deleted it, another being the amount of time and writing I and you all put into it....I didn't want to see all that vanish. I am sorry that things went the way they did and I should have said something a while ago but as I said sometimes real life gets you swept up in it. I hope the rest of you all are doing well.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:25, Mon 29 Apr 2019.

That's awesome!!  So many congratulations!  And best of luck with the house.  Buying houses is so much trouble.

Heh... my life seems to be running on a startlingly similar trajectory, falling apart around the same time and totally on a strong upswing now.  I guess I was a little ahead of you on the "falling apart" piece (which is why Sunphoenix never met Amaranth - I think I was fading out right about when you joined).  I just think it's great to know that the RL that got in the way was, "Things got too good."  You don't hear that nearly often enough.


Eddy... was super sweet, but far too young for Amaranth.  Although the fact that he still liked her after seeing her body crushed to pulp and then knitting itself back together had definite potential; she might have accepted that really, everybody is too young for her so she might just have to get over that.  But Amaranth was like, 200 years old.  She just didn't like to talk about that.  For me, though, Eddy actually is one of my favorites out of all the characters we had in these games.  Fantastic concept.

In reply to Amaranth (msg # 292):

Indeed Congratulations! Glad to hear life is doing so well for you!!

Yeah, Sunphoenix / Lance was born in 1941...though he looked ot be in his 20's .. his Adaptation power effectively..storywise made him immortal... though he had not gotten the realization of the full impact of that yet.  He was starting to understand... just how lonely his life was going to eventually be as most of his friends and acquaintances were getting up in age while he stayed eternally youthful.  He just didn't want to think about it... and so he kinda through himself into his work going all super-gungho...cause he had ~ almost purposely little outside his work, intentionally distancing himself from his old life.  But Vos impressed him.. and her heroic 'Whatever it takes' attitude.. appealed to his kind of old fashioned sensibilities of honor and duty.

But 'meh'... there are many games I've gotten in with detailed characters that ended too soon.

I'd be the last one to complain about a GM getting a case of "real life". ;)

That said, loved this game, enjoyed writing with all of you.  Who knows what fun we could have had?  But it was good times. :D

In other news... congrats to our GM for his newfound happiness!  That's awesome news, buddy.  Hope the best for ya! :D

Hey, no fair.   *sad face*    Eddy is 16, you know.   Like,  almost 16 and a half.
Its not like he's a kid any more!!!



I am happy for everyone who's being all adult like and mature, and getting their proverbial shit together and the like.
Kudos to you all, and may the good times continue.

Adult and mature?  Perish the thought... :D

I will say, if our illustrious GM ever does decide to restart or continue this game, I'm definitely down. Very good "X-Men: First Class" feel, great players, great characters.

My own attempts at running V&V were fun, but... this game was special.

I'm with you on that... If this game ever restarts.. I'm game!

This character is almost my all time favorite, so if the game restarts I'll be here.

Hey, get a life!   Oh, you did!!   AWESOME

I think I might've gotten married & we had 2 kids & bought a house since we were all actively playing!
And might've even cycled thru 5 or so jobs?!?!

I worked at one company for > 10 yrs, and then quit & went around world.
Then I landed a graveyard gig at a TV station for 3yrs, became a daytime worker for 2yrs, and then got laid off.

Since then, have only landed contract jobs that run between 6-18 months.  Crazy!
Luckily, each one has been a step better than the previous contract, so I'm making ~ 3x as much per hour now.

Which is good b/c I am the sole provider for my family of 4 (or 6 if you count our doggies).

Glad to hear all of y'all got good stuff going on. LIFE IS SHORT, we gotta go for what we want fast.

Eddy was 16?  Huh.  He acted much younger.
heh heh

Oscillator was prematurely old and rigidified.  :D
This message was last edited by the player at 18:17, Tue 14 May 2019.

Eddy and Egghead were developing quite the antagonistic bipolar relationship.
Eddy would never have admitted it to anyone, especially Egghead, but he respected the guy ... and had fun making fun of him.

Wow so much posting.

Sorry to be late to the show, was dealing with some health issues. Been off RPOL of a fair bit.

GM glad to hear life is going well. Congrats on the engagement.

All these VnV games were a blast, played some of my favorite characters in these game, Muldoon/Inhuman definitely among them.

Really appreciate all the time and effort you all put into our games!!

Happy New Year you'll. Hope life is good.

I was wondering if anyone might be interested in doing something with VnV on Zoom, Roll 20 etc?

My schedule tends to be ...flexible? ...variable?
chaotic.
Plus, I haven't managed to get any of my machines to use Zoom and Roll20 is hit and miss. Otherwise, I'm up for it.

Hmmmm.....sounds interesting. It would depend on what day, how often, what time, and how long to see if it would work with my schedule.

One of the nice things about Roll20 etc is if a session runs two hours it is all good cause all you had to do to play was sit on the couch. :)\

Just repeating this. I would be tentatively interested depending on the above variables.

To be honest, I worked on using roll20 after this was mentioned. I think I could squeeze in in.

Yeah, I could do a Roll20 VnV... no problem.

Cool, let me look into what is out there for VnV on roll20 and see if we can make things simpler.

I am in California still. So working on PST.

Anyone wants to play V&V in rpol, it's me!  :D
Also in Cali time (Nor Cal / SF Bay Area).

I'm game... when? I'd like to stick with character I have though.

Just lost 2 of my other games, don’t want this one deleted as I do like to wax nostalgic occasionally…..hope you are all well!

Meh.  I'm still here.  I have games that are no longer active... not sure what the policy IS for when they decide a game is to be deleted.  We finished our RIFTS - Vampire Kingdoms Game years ago... and yet its not been deleted! 'Shrug'

link to another game
This message was last edited by the player at 14:02, Thu 21 Dec 2023.

I think the games will hang out indefinitely if they're not deleted. I've never deleted one, but I have declared one 'ready to recycle" and then cleared and created threads to use it for something else.

I can't seem to remember WHY this game stopped?