I always wanted to run a game based on Captain N the Game Master cartoon. I seen a conversion for it in T.W.E.R.P.S. but no other system never and never had time to make one in different system.

There was once a game called Teenagers from Outer Space - it may have worked, with some tweaks for that game.

You are right ShadoPrism! I know TFOS, I'll give it a look. Thank you.

The story starts in 1516 when a young widow came to work for the master Leonardo DaVinci. She was unusually tall but very beautiful and so very brilliant as well. She understood all of the masters works with a near perfect sense and in less than a year became one of his most trusted confidants (and rumored to be his mistress as well, though this may have been just gossip). In the last years of the Masters life this woman inspired him and encouraged him to publish his works.
When he died in 1591 he left her all his notes and observations of the world with instructions for her to use them as she saw fit.

With the help of her only son she set out to use them and her own inspired idea's to change the world for the best. They started the DaVinci Corporation and with the blessing of Francis the First began using the knowledge to create wonders to empower France. Over the next 20 years (1592 to 1612) she and her people created a chain system to move objects across warehouses and from ships to shore. She also worked out how to make peddle powered conveyor system in which 2 strong men could work the peddled device and move large numbers of packages to waiting wagons. Thus making it easier to unload ships or other conveniences.
 This lead to the construction of a man powered flying machine. A large long shaped balloon that was powered by people using the peddled devices to turn fans that propelled the craft forward (primitive zeppelin). At first these were just entertainment for the masses as the corporation sold rides above Paris for a few pennies.
Later versions, created by scientist working for them created flying troop transports and ways for the military to spy on enemy movements. And even later 'gun ships' that carried small cannons that could rain death from above and out of the range of modern weapons. This in turn made France a world power of unprecedented strength for it's age.
In 1613, the Lady Ami Zion Penn, retired to a more sedentary life. Her son, at the age of 30, Eric Zion took over the business and helped move it forward and shape the world even further with the invention of the first steam engines and the discovery of how to created controllable lightning (ie electricity).

1640
27 years later, in an unprecedented move, the company bought from the country of France a large area of the new world. The southern half of what would be modern Louisiana. Specifically New Orleans and the surrounding land. Making it in effect its own country.

---

The reality behind this.
Ami Zion was in reality a Torridor genius and used her gifts to meet and befriend not only Master Leonardo DaVinci but also the King, Francis the 1st. Her son was her front man, despite being a child at the time.
In 1591 Leonardo became ill and Ami turned him. Then contracted a Tzimisce flesh crafter to make the 'dead' Leonardo look like a younger version of himself, so as to keep suspicions down. Thus Leonardo, with the help of his sire, created this business and the subsequent advancements.
Many of the advancements were actually the brain children of Ami Zion, who was blessed with a form of Precognition. She had dreams of the world as it Could be, in the far distant future. She used those dreams and her natural skills as an engineer to come up with many of the inventions that are changing the world.

In 1639, she and her group came to odds with the powers that be in the vampire world. So she set forth to make her own place in the world. She instructed her people to purchase land in the new world. She was mildly surprised that they were able to buy the cities and surrounding lands in Louisiana but pleased to. She moved to there, set up shop, and then with out governments looking over her shoulder, really moved things forward.
Ethanol powered engines, ships, flying machines, carbine rifles, gatling guns, and other things that the 'normal' world would not have seen for at least another 200 years.
Most of this technology stayed in Louisiana to keep them safe from the enemies of the people (mostly the Catholic Church and the Inquisition) as Louisiana openly accepted 'pagans' to live in their borders. (They had Freedom of Religion as well as other advanced social concepts, like womens equality. This really just doubled the countries work force.)
 Though the Church labeled them all heretics. The Corporation labeled the Church 'backward thinking spawns of Satan'. Needless to say there is allot of bad blood between the two groups.
Where as most countries would rather be on the Corporations good side, hoping to purchase (or steal) some of their advanced technologies for themselves.
This message was last edited by the user at 01:11, Mon 07 Dec 2015.

This is a re-imagining of how vampires work. Using the original World of Darkness base character creation for stats - but with these new sort of vampires.
Note: All these vampires have no more trouble with sunlight than any mortal.

---

The 3 levels of Vampirism

The basic level is the Thrall or Ghoul (name is to the preferance of the dominant vampire).
This is a mortal who has injested the blood of a vampire, binding themselves to that particular vampire (refered to as their Dominant - their actual relationship can be anything really, this term is just a catchall in vampire society). They become fearcly loyal to their Dominant, protective and in many case somewhat submissive (though this is not always true depending on how strong their personalities are). They are also change internally and can never return to being fully human even if they never drink from a vampire again.

The first stage causes some mild cramping and muscle spasms. This is the initial stages of change for a forming vampire. But if no more blood is introduced then no real outward change happens. There is also no real additional attraction toward the Dominant, and no 'lock' on which vampire may become their Dominant. (no more than 2 seperate days of injested blood for this level - 3 days moves the thrall to the 2cd stage).

The 2cd stage is slightly more dramatic, as the body begins to become healthier and more developed. Not nessisarly prettier, during this period the body looses excess weight and becomes more resistant to disease.
This stage takes roughly a week to ten days. Even multiple feedings will not speed this up, though it may make the changes easier to endure.
At this stage the subject starts to feel strong feelings for their Dominant, but they are not locked to a particular Dominant till stage 3. They also start to become more sexually aware and crave the attention of the vampires more. This stage Thrall, if left at this level, are good for breeders and as the occaisional willing meal. [Stat note: +1 Strength and Stamina]

Stage 3 can Only take effect after a subject has gone through stage 2. Safely at 2 weeks for estimitation referances.
Stage 3 causes the body to reach peak physical condition and form.  This can include changes in their sexual organs. It is not unheard of men gaining better deffination of their sex organs (larger, wider or both) and women gaining larger breast or more defined occaisionally smaller breast, which ever is more healthy for their body types, as well as tightening of their buttox and cervical muscles (really gives both genders great legs).
Emotionally they become loyal, protective, very strong sex drives (this is a compairison to what it was before they were changed). This increased sex drive sometimes makes them appear more submissive or dominant. Though they will never harm their Dominant - at this stage they are locked on to the vampire brought them to the 3rd level. This last for the rest of their (long) life.
[Stat Note: +1 to Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina]

Stage 2 Thralls have mildly extended life spans - average about 30 to 50 years longer than a normal human. They tend to heal faster and are more resistant to diseases. (100 to 150 years is not unheard of)

Stage 3 Thralls have greatly extended lives. With no more vampire blood they can live a comfortable 300 + years. With a steady (minimum monthly) supply of vampire blood they can live as long as their vampire Dominant.
Bound Thralls tend to become despondant and self destructive if their Dominant dies. Suicide is not unheard of in these cases.
---------
The 2cd level of vampirsism

These are 'Lesser' Vampires. They are immortal, and all started out as Thralls. They all have the same traits. Increased strength, Dexterity and Stamina plus basic vampire gifts. Wall walking (including ceilings), super leaping (upwards of 150ft is not unheard of, but it takes someone who was very strong as a thrall to do this as a vampire), highly enhanced senses (equal to Auspex lv1) and a kind of controlled animal magnetism (increased sexual awareness in mortals - makes them more desirable but not to the point that the mortals become unaware of others or loose control of their bodies). This power has no effect on other vampires and limited effect on thralls not of ones own. On the vampires own thralls it is extreemly powerful and can make them slavish to the vampires desires.
These sort of vampires have a weaker thirst than a full vampire but also have the advantage that they may still procreate. Though this is much harder than for a mortal. Children born from either these or Thralls are automatically level 2 thralls. But because of their birth they can not undergo the change to a level 3 till after their bodies have completed the puberty change. Ironically they are also immune to their birth parent or parents Dominitors blood. The reason for this is unclear.
The vampires can also learn new abilities but at a slower rate than a full vampire. {Game Mechanics: +1xp per level of Discipline - so 8xp to learn a new discipline and 4xp per level after that. Max bloodpool is: 20 for All no matter what generation}

Lesser vampires are created by other lesser vampires or a greater vampire.
Accidental vampires only happen by feeding errors by greater vampires and they Always end up as a lesser vampire. Though a Greater Vampire can create them on purpose. (standard form of change - potential is bitten, drained till close to or at unconsciousness then fed the blood of the sire - it takes both the Venom and Blood exchange for the change to happen, just one or the other will not do it.)
Non thralls can not become Lesser vampires from other Lesser Vampires do to a weakness in the blood. When a lesser vampire tries to turn some non thrall (ie normal mortal) all they get is a dead mortal.

Lesser vampires are hardier than mortals or thralls but not all that hard to kill. Destruction of the heart, decapitation, fire, and even some very nasty blood affecting diseases can kill a lesser vampire as easily as any mortal. Anything less and they will eventually heal from do to their higher regenitive rate.
Note a bullet to the heart hurts like all heck but is not in it self fatal. A stake to the heart, no matter if it's wood, metal, or plastic, will kill them if it removes at least half the heart.
-----
The 3rd level of vampirism

The Greater Vampire.
These can only be made my a greater vampire. They are closer to the 'undead' vampires of legend. Stronger, faster and with more power than a lesser vampire but also fewer of them as they can not procreate. But two they are much harder to kill as well.
Greater vampires have more starting powers (3 Disciplines) but the type of power varies from vampire to vampire (no 'clans' or sire to child carry overs) as well as the same powers the lesser vampires have. Greater vampires also act as walking magical Cairns - they act as a 'hot spot / stablizer' for magics around them. The radius of this varies from a few yards (min 100 yards) to over 300 miles (so far only the first one has a field that large).
Interestingly they also seem to stabalize natural phenomina (weather, earth movements, etc) though this is less noticable by the mortal world. (ie less dangerous weather and earth quakes around these powerful vampires. A good concentration of them in one place (4 or more) has a more profound effect.

Greater Vampires can be made from Mortals, Thralls, and even lesser vampires. The process is similar to how the lesser are made, but for an added ritual which is kept secret till a Greater Vampire reaches the age of Release (which has another ritual with some bindings included in to it).

All vampires are subject to their sires as if they were level 3 thralls - this connection of blood and spirit is just that strong. However the Sires attachment to their child is at least the equivalent of a level 2 thrall. Because of this no sire / child murders have happened. (yet)

Sub note: do to the sire - child link - vampires can not become blood bound to one another. As such drinking from other vampires poses no more risk than drinking from any other vessel, though vampire blood is not as nutritious or tasty as mortal blood. Though it is most often only found in lovers as between vampires it is seen as an intimate act.

You never know when your life is going to go off in a strange way.

One day, your out running errands and this portal thing opens up around you and you and your vehicle drop down in to some strange primitive world with different natural laws. First thing you notice is your vehicle's engine dies, and when you try to restart it it acts like the battery is totally dead (ie Nothing happens, no lights come on, nada), also you note your cell phone no longer works. Then it slowly sinks in, the scenery outside your vehicle is not like home. You were on a road in town, not in the middle of some primeval forest with no visible road or people.
Once you build up enough nerve to exit your vehicle, you notice that the air is fresh and there is a path leading away from your vehicle.

What are you going to do ?

All you have is what is on your person or in the vehicle you arrived in.

---

This scenario / story is a what if type: Some unknown reason or force pulls people from our modern world in to a magical world where technology (well anything electronic, including spark plugs) simply does not work.
You have a few supplies (depending on the type of errands you were doing) but no clue as to this new place or how to get back to the place you came from.

I see this world as being like Realm Space (they already state in its description that electronics don't work. Magical interference probably). You have a group of people, who start out alone or maybe with one or two others (who was in the same vehicle when they arrived). The starting post will all be individual to each arrival - coming together when they all reach the end of their paths at the central location. Most likely a town, but it could be a cave, castle, tower, or what ever the GM wants. (I lean toward the town myself, with a selection of locals and general store type things. An Adventures way stop possibly - one of those places that springs up or around a known adventures dungeon crawl or meeting place. So the people are more or less use to odd people and will have a better chance at trading with the new comers.
Many wild goose chases and other adventures can spring up from this type of group or people.
Will the try to go home ?
Or maybe they like this world and want to stay but need a place to live and some form of income (lets face it, not many modern people have skills that would work in an alien and more primitive world. So adventuring maybe their only options.)
Many possibilities for events to. Accidents caused by misinformation (gamer who Thinks he knows all about the Realms only to learn that allot of what he knows is wrong, names have changed, or events he heard of never happened in this world. - like the Gods War did not happen (Yet ?) or other gamer info is accurate but brings about people who don't want that knowledge known, or worse, want to know all you know and are not shy of trying to force it out of you.

---

I personally think this would work best using 2cd ed AD&D.

Man, these are all incredible ideas! May I ask why you wont/cant gm anymore? You're obviously a very good one

You can't escape the draw to and demand for the ST!!!!

MWA HA HA HA HA HA !!!!

lol  =p


One plot I had a lot of success with was a rather simple one.

First take your standard Hunter game and strip away there powers, all they get to do is pick a creed and virtues.... otherwise they write up a normal human. No supernatural backgrounds, merits, or flaws... just your run of the mill every day human.

Then go from one player to the other, one on one, RPing out the day they become a hunter. They go along there normal human day when, blam second sight sets in and they see some one for what they truly are, a monster. Then hit them hard with the call from the messengers.... words changing on adds, people sounding like they say things they didn't realy say, there whole world spinning as the weight of the messengers weighs down on there mind making them see and hear things. All telling them the monster must die, kill the monster, it feeds on human flesh... and so on and so on.

Then sit back and let it roll from there, let each char react to this horrifying situation as they will. When ever some one dose something that fits as a good trigger for one of the powers they have enough virtue for, make that the trigger for the power from then on and activate it.  Let them discover a power or two right then and there as they run from or try and kill the beast.

Do this for every char and let them have there time in the spotlight.

When all is said and done make another go around. Each person wakes up the next day to find they have a letter.... it has odd markings on it that they have never seen before and yet some how they know what it means "help" and "message". It is a letter from a local priest, he as been contacted by a local hermit and told of the new hunters and has sent a message to all of them to come and meet him... he promises to explain everything.

Through the rest of the game let them turn there conviction into virtue as normal but they never get to pick any powers, when ever they have the virtue (and I dubbled the amount of powers you could unlock from virtue points being that they didn't have control over how they were spent) and the NEED for a power comes up give it to them, again with the trigger they use when they first activate it.

This system of getting powers as you need them should focus mostly to powers in there own creed, but they can get any power on the list 1~4 (excluding the two broken creeds of crose).  Players that are smart will likely try and force powers out of themselves, allow it but don't make it to easy. If they dedicate time and research though hunter message boards and the like to see how powers manifest in others make it a little easier on them... there doing there homework and it pays off. Powers are a good bit on confidence, and knowing that something worked for a lot of other people convinces you it will work for you too.

At this point you can really go where ever you want for a good time, this system is loosely suggested in the books and put together players seam to love it.

---

In my game the city was our own so everyone knew what we were working with, and after everyone was introduced to each other and learned about what they were they were sent out on missions by the priest and his experienced group to go kill various groups of monsters.

This all lead up to there being a large amount of plant zombies in the park, some vines in the park were killing people at night, and then taking over there bodies. Several of the homes around the park had people that besides moving slowly and with jerky motions looked some what normal.. until the vines started growing out of them and they tried to kill everyone. (this monster is in Book of the Wyld)

A hudge hord of these zombies will threaten anyone trying to kill them or the vines, visionary powers will show though that they are all coming from one bulb. If the hunters can dig it up from under ground and kill it all the zombies will die.

If the players kill off the bulb the next night they get more stories about odd things going on in the park..... thugish clows and a strange mime in a suit. They are planting wodden stakes in the ground.

IF they investigate to much the clows will try and kill them, even though they are just really strong humans.  The mime is human but something is wrong in second sight he looks twisted and flicking green flames twist about him in strange fluid ways.  The mime will inter in if the clowns are beat up to much and start juggling balls and bale fire and throwing them at the group!  This will likely drive them off. This mime is rather strong for hunters.

The next day it seams the carnival is in town.... one that is oddly only open at night...Anastagio's Olde Time Lunar Carnival and Midnight Circus.

Yes thats right people, I ran a Midnight Circus game with weak hunters..... what a true horror story it was....

there second sight could see the thorns too, the 'night pass' was a crescent man in the moon with a snake coiling around it and biting the eye of the man in the moon... they HAVE to get the stamp to get it as the circus exists in it's own realm and the only way in is through the front gate... They watch as the more of there soul they lose the more the snakes tail coils around and up there arm.... and every where they can see the snake coiled around peoples throats and a second head of the snake bitting the persons eye...... a rather disturbing thing to see, that no one else see's.

It's hard for there second sight to brake the glamor over the place but when ever it dose they are rewarded with horrors.

In the end they can find out that the souls of the city folk visting are being collected into two phylacteries that if they can get to them they can set them free... one in the Ferris wheel guarded by the executioner ghost, and the other at the heart of the mirror maze guarded by Aphosis' embasary

They have little chance of getting these through direct confrontation.

In the end they have 7 days before the Circus moves on.

Regardless of the turn out the priest will end up calling them in. Turned out that half of the monsters they were sent to kill were good ones, the others competition for controlling the city. The bulb was a gardian of the city, it was going crazy in reaction to trying to build up power to keep the Circus away.... killing it let the Circus in...  The priest is a Drone of the Patriarch, the incarnation of Dogma, a very powerful drone at that. But he should be little trouble for the party.... the only thing they should have to worry about is the cathidral is a glass one.... and drones have the shatter glass power. They better take cover!

He's an easy kill though.... the quire boy though.... he's a weaver spirit of grate power an angel of dogma who they will have to gain there level 5 powers in the fight with it to even have a chance to beat.  Depending on how they have plaied determines what power you offer them... as level 5 has it's prices.   Oddly enough in my game I had 3 people...and one ended up with a messanger power,  one a creed power, and the other a currupter power..    lol


In the end if you run with the idea they can find out some of the things that are going wrong if they aren't hack and slashing there way through things.

Some of the fera they are sent to kill can be especialy helpful with there own wondering of why there totem spirit is so upset and is hurting people

If they manage to calm the plant rather than kill it, the Circus people will show up to kill it themselves though.

Some big red flags are the fact that the quire boy is always around.... even if just watching from a balcony... he's always there some where with the priest, even if the priest acts like it's because well you can guess why.... lol

A much bigger red flag is the fact trying to use visionary powers don't work well diff 10 with more than one success needed..... should they actually get it.... massive loss of temporary willpower, intense pain, loss of consciousness, and likely a derangement or two.

Sad thing is in my game the visionary did this... looked at the kid, used the power.... got 4 10's and a scream and a thud late was on the ground twitching. She just chocked it up to the fact that she was going insane....  lol

making friends with the fera can tell you sence they church was build weaver activity has been growing stronger and stronger driving out other spirts in the area.

this is already long, so i'll stop as this is good enugh I think lol

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 16:25, Mon 16 June 2014.

In reply to LucidWarrior (msg # 24):

Actually I am running one of those now - I burned out for a while. Couple years I just got a massive head ache when ever I even considered running a game.
Then that last idea, well I liked it so much I set it up last week. (June 10). We are just shy of 500 in game post now. (though 100 of those are OOC)
The hard part is I tend to be a touch compulsive and want to answer all the post I get Right then, and I get a little anxious when people don't post hourly - but I live with that (by checking it at least once every couple hours - though its more like every few minutes when I am online).

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was the wrong forum, at 04:58, Tue 17 June 2014.

in the Original World of Darkness form - but with a twist.

The Curse of Caine many take to be the Vampires 'gift' itself, but looking over the stories from the book of Nod it came to me. At one point Caine made a pact with something for power, this pact made it so he and all those who came after him were forced to hide from the sun and from Faith.

What if someone found a loop hole in this Dark Pact and started making a group of vampires who did not have those two problems, as the Pact does not apply to them. That is where this concept came from.

---

The Alliance - a group of 'Anarch' vampires with strong ties in science and magic seek a way to return to the sun with out that nasty dieing problem. They stumble across an ancient script which speaks of the contract and the creation of the clans - how 1 vampire embraces a mortal then that child is also bound to the contract.
Through much experimenting they come across a way to create a 'lesser vampire'. These people do not fear the sun, can eat normal human fare (or anything a human can), have sex like a human (not all their fluids are replaced by blood).  Still can't procreate though. Also they can't seem to learn several powers.
Dominate, Obentration, Dementia and other 'dark gifts'. But are all naturally stronger, faster, and more enduring at birth than a normal fledgling. These they just call the Clanless.

The process of making a Clanless started with mixing the bloods of 2 or more vampires of different clans in to an embrace.
When the Child wakes they have gone through a metamorphosis that cures many physical disabilities, scars, and similar (app +1), they all gain muscle mass as well, becoming more physically fit. (Str, Dex, and Sta +2 to start or base line for Physical stats: 3 in each slot instead of 1)
They do not smell dead either. Though not alive, their hearts beat much slower and they really don't need to breath, except to talk or smell. And for some reason they all seem to be of the same generation despite their originator sires generation. Blood pool and use is set at 7th generation (BP: 20, 5 use per turn) - though they don't have a 'trait max' like the Clan vampires do either. (ie they max out at 10)

The down side is a stake through the heart will kill them (anything that destroys the heart or head will kill one of these). Any other wound heals at a very accelerated rate, though not as fast as a Clan vampire (1/2 speed in comparison - or takes 2 times longer for wounds to heal on a clanless). Except Fire. They take 1.5 aggravated damage from fire and as such fear it even more than your normal vampire.

They tend to start out with one or more of the Physical powers, (Potence, Celerity, or Fortitude) as well as 2 other powers (3 total rule still applies, [Example: Potence, Celerity, and Auspex]). They will learn those 3 'gifts' as standard clan powers. They can learn any non 'Dark Powers' disciplines at the normal cost.
Note on Protean: They can learn / have this but don't gain the Curse that goes with it.
Dark powers include: Dominate, Presence, Obentration (shadow manipulation), Vicissitude, and similar.
They can Learn these but it is difficult for them. (8xp at base and 5xp per level afterwards).
Interestingly they Can't learn Thaumaturgy (blood magics) at all, but can learn 'older' magics, like ritual or runic magics as well as any mortal mage. They have even developed a form of runic based techno-magic. They are very skilled in this form of magic, on par with the Technocracy in techno-magical wonders.
Bloodlines have formed over the years though. These all share the same powers, but do not as yet have a unified 'clan' weakness.

They can create 'Ghouls / Thralls' just like the clan vampires and have done so to the point of having several Thrall families that serve these vampires. The Clanless are more likely to form such a family around themselves than any Clan vampire. They see such family units as a great thing. Many bloodlines form from such families as a Thrall is rewarded for service by being made immortal. Interestingly it has been noted that they have more female children than male children in these families. The reason for this is as yet unknown.
(Thrall Children are all very healthy, and base line physical starts at 2 per slot instead of one - otherwise they are very close to normal human in stats - life span for a thrall is roughly 350 to 500 years as they age slower after hitting 16 years old. - figure they age 1 year for every 5 to 7 years physically)

Most Clan vampires tend to look down on the Clanless vampires, seeing them as a lesser race despite their advantages. They see them as being 1 step above Thralls or equal to a thin blood.
Interestingly the Clanless, because of their poor treatment by the Clans, tend to adopt any thin bloods they come across and treat them as equals.

By the start of the 20th century the Alliance is now almost totally 'clanless' and viewed by the Camarilla as a 'mercenary force of anarchs' - though the Sabbat still see anyone who is not Sabbat as Camarilla and treats them as such.
And Clanless in Sabbat territory are considered to be Panders. (the Sabbat really does not believe these Clanless to exist and as such has underestimated them to their detriment in the present times).

---

Dark Powers:
Dominate, Dementia, Presence, Obtenebration, Vicissitude, Serpentis, Quietus, Necromancy, Dementation
This message was last edited by the user at 18:57, Fri 25 July 2014.

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was a bump, at 02:54, Wed 29 July 2015.

Had this idea a few days ago.

Wanting to make a new race or clan of vampires, but not by the old stand-by's.
So what we have is a 'Mad Scientist'. He could be a vampire visionary, seeking to create the 'Perfect Vampire' or just the run of the mill wacko scientist, or even someone just screwing around with things and accidentally creating (via themselves) a new strain of vampire.
On the last one I can see someone trying to turn themselves in to a super hero / Super Soldier type thing, but their knowledge concerning genetics is limited / flawed (or they are just delusional enough to think they know all they need to know) and the end results are more than and less than they desired.

Yes you have super speed and strength and can climb walls like Spiderman, but you also have to drink blood to live. (animal blood probably works as well as human for this type).

Take this, run with it. What sort of mischief can you come up with for this concept ?

In reply to ShadoPrism (msg # 31):

Funny you should mention Spider-Man, because there was a character like that in the Spider-Man comics. He was called Morbius, the Living Vampire, and he briefly had his own series in the 90s. Doctor Morbius was a scientist who treated himself with an experimental process. I think Doctor Morbius had some sort of blood disease, but I don't remember that part clearly. He developed vampire powers, went insane, and fought Spider-Man many times. There was also a period of time in which Morbius was on an alien planet, but the less mentioned about that, the better. Because Morbius' powers were biological in nature instead of mystical, Morbius was immune to destruction of all vampires that Doctor Strange performed on the world. Around the first issue of his own series, Morbius' mutation stabilized, and he regained his sanity. As an anti-hero, he vowed to drink only the blood of criminals, and that is just what he did. I don't know his current status in Marvel continuity.

On the old Dragons Landing Inn forums, a user called RivCA posted several outstanding campaign concepts for a variety of gaming genres. Here is just one of his ideas, this time for science fiction and kaiju action.

Reign of the Steel Gods

The players take on the rolls of giant robots (cyborgs technically) who defend their planet from alien attackers. The PCs have more than enough power in their bodies to accomplish this task, but to access that technology, they must first remember why they are fighting. They must roleplay through flashback scenes from the time before they converted their bodies into war machines.

Background: In the distant future, humans colonized most of the Milky Way Galaxy with the help of nanotechnology. Nanomachinery became the linchpin of humanity's society. The far reaching human civilization extended even into the rare systems where cosmic radiation (harmless to humans) rendered nanotech inoperable. Those few humans who rejected the use of nanotech for various philosophic or religious reasons settled these few systems.

Things went swimmingly until a colonizing probe of nanobots returned from the Hades System unexpectedly. Something had gone wrong in the Hades System, and the nanites which were sent their to teraform came back aggressive. The rogue programming of aggressive nanites spread like an infection through the civilized worlds without explanation and without warning. Within days, almost all of the humans across the galaxy were killed. The refugees who made it out in time fled to the pockets of space where nanotech was inoperable.

The revolution against humanity did not end there. The nanite swarm which began in the Hades System attempted to press into the refugee systems. Unable to operate even shielded, the swarm began experimenting with other tactics. It sent asteroids and then rockets into the refugee systems. Then it began developing more complex technologies including killer robots and bio-engineered monsters. One by one, the refugee systems folded and were wiped clean of survivors.

In the last remaining system, scientists and engineers worked desperately to create countermeasures to these incursions. Robots were developed which could fight toe to toe with any trouble which arrived from deep space, but these systems were unreliable for a variety of reasons. One problem with robots is that they are by design stupid. The humans (and the swarm) both found that the smarter robots were unwilling to follow directions. In fact, the intelligence of an A.I. was directly improportional to its willingness to fight. The A.I.s had formed their own society which wanted no part in the war between the swarm and humanity.

Cyber-Gigantism: The first major breakthrough came when a scholar rediscovered an abandoned science from centuries previously. Cyber-Gigantism allowed the human scientists to alter the bodies of soldiers into order to become any size desired. That would allow human soldiers to carry and power the most potent weapons technology which the engineers could build out of thousands of years of experience.

The early prototype Cyber-Giants seemed to be a success. They were initially very effective on the battlefield. The problem with this program turned out to be the mental toll taken on the volunteers. Many became wreckless in battle and allowed themselves to be killed. Others simply self-destructed. None of the prototypes survived more than a month in the field. These prototypes were the titans of their day, powerful beyond imagination but flawed and destined for failure.

Enter the Player-Characters: The PCs are not titans, they are steel gods.

The second phase of the Cyber-Giants strategy involved a more careful screening of volunteers, a more gradual introduction of weapons technology, and an extensive counseling program which never ended. Most importantly, engineers added technology based limiters on their weapon systems which did not allow access to powerful systems until the soldiers met certain psychological thresholds.

Being a monster is not enough to carry one through an arms race for survival. The steel gods must continually remind themselves what it means to be human. They must remember why they are fighting in order to carry on. They must struggle to remain human as they become physically less and less so.

Other characters: RivCA also wrote an extensive post about the role of robots in his setting. It was interesting stuff but not entirely required to understand nor run the game.

A bunch of regular folks win a trip to visit the CERN supercollider, whilst its being upgraded. Whilst the PCs are shown the collision chamber, a freaky accident causes the supercollider to activate, transporting the PCs away somewhere.

The PCs discover that they have been sent in time and space, to the Titanic, a day before the collision with the iceberg. There, they discover that the Titanic was meant to be sunk. With no way back to their home or time, the PCs have tough choices to make.

In reply to laitang (msg # 34):

I like it. It seems very roleplay heavy since there is still limited space on the life boats. If the PCs choice to save themselves, someone else who was supposed to live is going to be killed in their place. It doesn't lend itself to more than one game session though.
This message was last edited by the user at 09:14, Fri 11 Dec 2015.

The Paradox Institute

I had a dream recently about a concept in science called Fermi's Paradox and a type of sci-fi story which we could extrapolate from it.

In 1951, physicist Enrico Fermi and his friends went to lunch. During this fateful meal, the scientist began debating whether or not alien civilizations should exist at other stars based upon probability mathematics. After much calculating on notebooks and napkins, they reached a concensus that there should be thousands of such civilizations based upon the overwhelming number of stars and suspected number of planets in the universe. This assumes a few somewhat conservative estimates of how likely life is to take root on such planets and how likely life is to develop into creatures at least as intelligent as humans. If those conservative estimates were broadened into less conservative estimates or if the possibility of intelligent life away from stars were taken into account, then there might be millions or billions of civilizations in the universe. Then Enrico what would become one of the most important questions of all time, “So where is everybody?”

I wrote a six page explanation of the setting. Here is the short-short-short version. In the future, humans discover that thousands or millions of alien civilizations have existed in the Milky Way Galaxy. By the time that humans reach other stars, all of those civilizations are dead. The Paradox Institute is an organization which has taken on the responsibility of figuring out what happened to everybody. The characters are Earthlings (humans, transhumans, uplifted animals, and AIs) who explore the ruins of alien worlds and spacecraft as archealogists with ray guns trying to figure it all out before Earth becomes the next crypt world.

In reply to chupabob (msg # 35):

Yes, it was meant to be a one shot.

In reply to chupabob (msg # 36):

I just love the Paradox Institute! You've got a novel there, let alone a game. Did you play it? I want to know more already.

In reply to icosahedron152 (msg # 38):

I haven't done anything with Paradox Institute yet. I just had the dream a week or two ago. This happened too late in the year for me to participate in NaNoWriMo with it, but I might do that next year since you mention it.

LEXICON
Fermi's Paradox: the mystery which queries that if intelligent life in inevitable, why does Earth's intelligent life seem to exist in a vacuum. The answer is that other intelligent life has developed but died off in mass extinction events.

The Great Filter: catch-all term for all of the events which have potential to destroy entire civilizations. Some extinction events are well known, but the unknown causes are the most dangerous and worrying to Earthlings.

Paradox Institute: an organization founded by Earth colonists to Alpha Centari to study the ruins and relics of extinct civilizations.

Crypt World: any location where the ruins of an extinct civilization exist. There are thousands and perhaps millions of crypt worlds which exist within the Milky Way Galaxy alone. This term includes but is not limited to natural planetoids, terraformed planetoids, large interstellar spacecraft, ring worlds, and dyson spheres.

Centarians: This is the human-given name to an extinct species of intelligent creatures which flourished in the Alpha Centari star system. The Centarians were the first species to be studied by xeno-archeologists.

Insightful: (used as both a noun and an adjective) This is the human-given name to a mysterious civilization of intelligent creatures who constructed a network of space ships that were distributed throughout the Milky Way galaxy and beyond. Useful relics from this civilization are called Insightful Technology.

Insightful Network: a fleet of large ships created billions of years ago and sent to distant parts of the Milky Way galaxy and beyond. The ships themselves are limited to slower-than-light travel, but Earthlings are able to access this network to instantly psuedo-travel between ships and thus explore the galaxy.

Crone: clone+drone. The Insightful Network does not create wormhole which allow explorers to actually pass through. Instead, it includes a supply of entangled matter which is controlled remotely though the Network. Explorers are able to create copies of themselves in distant parts of space. The supply of entangled matter is not unlimited and the system was designed by the Insightful to only allow each user to create one crone in each location. Death of a crone is not considered a tragedy, but it is a major setback to exploration.

TIMELINE
Here is a rough draft of the timeline for my Paradox Institute setting.

Almost 14 billion years ago: the Universe was formed
10 billion years ago: the first generation of intelligent species developed. The Great Filter almost immediately begins claiming victims.
8 billion years ago: construction of Dyson Sphere Alpha begins. The aliens who began its construction will not survive to see its completion, but automated system continue the construction process to this day.
7 billion years ago: The Insightful civilization begins building space ships and sending them out to explore the galaxy. Real time communication between Insightful Ships is possible due to an application of entangled particle physics.
6.9 billion years ago: The Great Filter claims the Insightful. Their legacy will continue in the form of their fleet, the Insightful Network.
4 billion years ago: The Apophic Civilization colonizes asteroids and comets.
3 billion years ago: The Centarian civilization flourishes in the Alpha Centari star system. They colonize and terraform their own system extensively, but they seem to never leave it.
3.99 billion years ago: The Great Filter destroys the Centarian civilization.
roughly 1.5 million years ago: The Homo-Sapien species develops on Earth
1951: Fermi first observes the principle which would come to be known as Fermi's Paradox
1984: S.E.T.I. was founded to search for intelligent life in the universe passively.
October 2015: The first evidence of intelligent life away from Earth is discovered when Dyson Sphere Alpha is observed by long range telescopes.
2036: Asteroid Apophis passes close to Earth. Astronauts intercept the stone to prevent a collision with Earth. To their surprise, they find structures there which prove the presence of an intelligent civilization predating humans. The asteroid and the ruins had to be destroyed to protect Earth, but small artifacts were preserved.
2100: The first generation space ship is sent to the Alpha Centari system.
2150: Uplifted animals are granted legal status equivalent to that of humans. The term Earthling becomes more common than the term humanity.
2200: The first generation ship reaches Alpha Centari. It discovers the ruins of an advanced civilization. The Paradox Institute is founded by colonists to study the ruins.
2350: While the colonists at Alpha Centari are focused on studying the past to learn more about the Great Filter, Earthlings adopt a different strategy. They believe that an adaptive and diverse civilization is best strategy for coping with any unknown hazards, so they focus on transhuman develop through genetic engineer, cybernetics, artificial intelligence, and the uplifting of other Earthling lifeforms.
2400: A long dead ship passes into the Alpha Centari system. Prospectors intercept it thinking that it is a relic of the Centarian civilization. Instead, it is found to be a relic of the Insightful Civilization, an entirely different and unique alien structure. This large ship is towed into the system and parked in orbit around the capital world of the colonists.
2401: The Paradox Institute announces that it has discovered how to use the Insightful Network which is composed of thousands of ships, and the network allows its researchers access to the parts of the galaxy where the ships exist.
2401: During only the third use of the Insightful Network, an entire team of crones is onboard the Insightful Ship by a nano-machine plague. These crones are only the first Earthlings to be killed by a Great Filter Event. 90% of all crones are killed by something or another within weeks of their creation.
2402: The job of exploring the galaxy through the Insightful Network is overwhelming. Most of the originally built by the Insightful are non-functional by this time, but some thousand or so ships which are functional remain. The Insightful network even includes a handful of ships which have reached the Megellanic Clouds outside of the Milky Way and the vast space between galaxies.
2410: A call is put out for volunteers to explore those parts of space which the Insightful Network makes accessible.
2475: By this time, colony ships from Earth to Alpha Centari are common. Each ship includes at least one transhuman.
2500: Less than 10% of the crypt worlds accessible through the Insightful Network have been adequately explored. Less than half have even been visited. The explorers of the Paradox Institute continue to send small teams of explorers through the network into the world.

Character templates (if used as an RPG setting)
Colonial Archeaologist: these descendants of colonists who traveled from Earth to Alpha Centari have generations of experience exploring alien ruins. They are intelligent, rugged, and resourceful. These characters are entirely human, but they are highly skilled.

Uplifted: Intelligent animals derived from native Earth species. These creatures were created using combinations of genetic manipulation, cybernetic enhancement, and good old selective breeding. They represent what can be accomplished when science and evolution cooperate. Any species of animal can be uplifted but the most common are dolphins, apes, cephalopods, dogs, and neanderthals.

Transhumans: This season's latest and shiniest new model of Earthling. This can be a chemically reanimated human head on a robot body with chainsaw hands. This can be a woman with cat's eyes and a nano-machine slurry for blood. A transhuman can have any combination of augmentation in his body and his brain, and different forms of augmentation come and go according to trends, technological advances, and personal preference. Transhumans frown upon gender identity and sexual preference as archaic concepts. The transhumans come from Earth, and they often expect to be treated as celebrities by the undeveloped backwoods humans of Alpha Centari. The colonists consider these transhumans a little haughty and are ultimately unimpressed by them. Despite cultural conflicts, the Paradox Institute always has work for transhumans.

Note: AI characters are present in the setting, but they are suggested as NPCs not player-characters. If I come up with a system that allows for people to roleplay hyper-intelligent AIs without nerfing the characters for making them hopelessly unbalancing, I will change my position on this.

All rights reserved (for now).

In reply to chupabob (msg # 39):

You gotta run or publish it!

Does sound like an interesting world / universe for Sci Fi RPG or series.

I appreciate the feedback, guys.