Second post...
Jhiaxus is going to kill me. He writes a couple pages in a book,a nd I reply with one sentence. Bad Gm, no biscuit.
Did watch Tron 3-d with the family. It was good in a lot of parts, but kinda confusing, and kinda disapointing.
The boys had a week off from school due to snow.
I've occasionally seen you describe things in a way that could be fairly described as awesome or brilliant. But I don't see that in your novels.
Mea culpa, although there is some reason for that.
At present, I'm running four "main" characters, and everything is seen from their perspective. Each of them poses challenges to me.
- Lauren Hastings is in some ways the most challenging, because she is very much me, but a) in female form and b) with less of my experience and education. As an example of this, like The Architect in my early games, she does her faith-magic by quoting scripture; but she quotes it in English, while I did all my quoting in meticulously-learned Greek. I would rather have had her quote in Greek, but I couldn't really justify it based on the two years I spent in a two-year Bible College (which is where her education ended) despite having taken Greek there. (Besides, the English doesn't have to be translated for the reader to understand what she's saying.) The short of it is that when I'm writing Lauren I have to be very careful not to overstep the bounds of what she logically would know while maintaining much of my character in her. It would be good to have others teach her, and indeed to put her in a situation in which she can study and begin to reach my level of education, but that opportunity has not yet arisen, and as of the opening of the fifth book I still don't see it coming.
- Bob Slade is probably the reverse problem. He is so very different from me that were someone to explain things to him he wouldn't listen. He is less educated and sees no particular value in becoming more educated--even with his magic, he does it as "tricks", and while he admires Shella's diligent study, he cannot imagine himself doing more than playing with spells. Not only would it be entirely out of character for him to know what I know, it would be out of character for him to bother to listen to someone explaining it to him.
- Joe Kondor thus winds up the best educated of the original three, but all of his work is in medicine and physics, which frankly are my weak suits--I am a generalist (learning less and less about more and more until one day I will know nothing about everything), so I can get by faking knowledge of his subjects, and there are points in which I am familiar from exposure and research, but he really is a specialist (learning more and more about less and less until one day he will know everything about nothing) whose fields are so different from mine that for him to comment on, for instance, linguistics would be ridiculous. I can see him expanding his interests, but on the other hand if he ceases to be a specialist I lose some of what makes him distinct as a character.
- Derek Brown might in an awkward way be my best hope. He discovered when he was with Lauren in the post-apocalyptic earth that he loves to learn, and he probably is at this point the best educated of the four--humorous because he still looks like a youth. However, although he is broadly educated, the emphasis has always been on his knowledge of cybernetics, programming, the computer world, even to the point that he's not that well informed on robotics.
But I'll give it more thought.
Jhiaxus is going to kill me. He writes a couple pages in a book,a nd I reply with one sentence.
Eh, he's done it to me, piling me with long lists of spells he wants to learn and then posting no more than "next spell" when I've put half an hour into one of them.
Did watch Tron 3-d with the family.
Did you see the original? (Do you remember much of it?)
Is Flynn back in the computer, or is that a copy of him from when he entered before?
I had trouble watching the action sequences of Disney's A Christmas Carol in 3D--made me motion sick. I have the same problem with a Nintendo 64, but not with other 3D video games. How is the 3D on this? Should I look for a 2D showing? (Is there such a thing?)
--M. J. Young
Just rewatched the original a couple weeks back.
Flynn's in the computer.
The three-d did not seem overly impressive or attracting too much attention. What there was was more subtle.
I'm sure somewhere there's a 2-d. If I waited a couple months to watch it at the dollar theatre in Nashville, it would have to be 2-d because I don't think they do 3=d
Oak doesn't like the world he is in, and gets to goto Star Wars :P There is no justice :)
He probably likes my gravatar.com photo more than yours... ;)
This is a darkly humorous, at least for the GM, version of Star Wars.
Of course, he might like your photo better after all... :o
Jhiaxus, you might like my latest 'Book of Versers' story 'Axe Wet' since the verser hero is a follower of Thor.
Second post....
Mark,
I'm thinking a bit on what you said of your characters and if I can illustrate with a story a solution. One story I read was 'Natural Ordermage' and then the sequel 'Mage-guard of Hamor' about a guy who had magic, and the other Order mages were telling him to read his book of mage philosophy and to poke about in experimenting. This gets him severely irritated at his teachers, and then exiled when he blows up something by following their advice. Later, his second teacher is not impressed as he points out that certain teaching methods just do not work for a natural order mage. You have to give them examples and have them work at following the examples.
This is somewhat perhaps the case with Bob Slade.
Let me see if I can come up with something. And yes, I'm feeling prolific. Better take advantage of it while I can.
I read it before you put my attention to it, seemed a lot like Jhiaxus :P
Oh and to Oak, at least you can get a lightsabre :P or Force Lightning some mook to death :P
The first item is definitely quite high on both my wish list and my todo list. :D
The second item is admittedly somewhat less likely... :p
This is somewhat perhaps the case with Bob Slade.
Eh. Except that Bob would never have a teacher (other than Shella, whom he wouldn't regard as a teacher but as a friend sharing a trick with him) and would never put too much effort into study on his own. He's a prime example of a magician whose ability improves only because he uses it when it's useful.
--M. J. Young
And yes, I'm feeling prolific. Better take advantage of it while I can.
Something of an afterthought here, or perhaps a sudden inspiration. It occurs to me that there are a lot articles you've posted which would be potentially helpful or inspirational for referees. I don't know if you've got links to them all, or even to the best of them, but if you were to provide a list of links and titles to Multiverser-related articles and posts and such, I would be glad to add it to the support site. You've already got your own subsection there, so it's not a big deal.
On the other hand, I know how much work that can be. I was trying to rebuild the links to the Game Ideas Unlimited series, and there were just too many other things to do, so it kind of got lost in the shuffle.
--M. J. Young
Interval, my latest story, is up. Its more of a thought experiment, and an attempt to answer Mark's questions about his characters learning than it is some great story. I did some odd things with it.
As to the other question, about gathering up links, hmmmmm. Let me think about it. I'm lazy tis true.
I don't know why people say "Patience of a Saint." Saint Peter was hardly known for his patience. The guy was a hothead. He attacked the angry mob that came to get Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Not exactly the actions of a man renowned for patience.
John,
Yeah.
That is one of my favorite stories from the Bible. He stood alone against who knows how many people to protect his friend. He would have died in that moment if Jesus hadn't stopped him. That's the kind of guy you want watching your back.
(Doing Therapy)
Trivia question: who had the other sword?
--M. J. Young
Probably Judas. He was the treasurer for the group. If anyone needs a weapon, it's the guy carrying the money.
(Doing Therapy)
Before they went to the garden, Andrew, who was Peter's brother, told Jesus that they had two swords. Since Peter had one, it makes sense that Andrew had the other.
It's not certain, but is the best fit.
There's no evidence that Andrew drew his sword, though.
Peter not only drew the sword, he used it, slicing off the ear of a slave; Jesus healed the ear.
--M. J. Young
That was an argument I've seen used by pro-gun people. Even Jesus Christ Himself advocated carrying weapons under certain circumstances. Maybe if it was today, Jesus would be saying to carry a Glock or a Smith and Wesson.
(Doing Therapy)
What's the definition of power? I think this sums it up.
"To have someone in your control. To have them know that they are alive only because you have not decided to the contrary."
Kurt Dussander, Apt Pupil.
(Doing Therapy)
This would probably be better suited for the Racial Discrimination Thread, but oh well. I've been watching The Incredible Hulk TV show from NetFlix, and I've noticed something. The Hulk looks mean and scary, but if he's not specifically angry with you, he's actually very docile and benevolent. In one episode, he was actually holding a newborn baby, and was amazingly tender and loving with her. Proof that you can't judge a person just because they're 7 feet tall and green.
I never understood why David Banner didn't just wear sweats all the time. Those would stretch out and not tear when he metamorphosed into the Hulk. For a doctor, he isn't too bright.
I never understood why David Banner didn't just wear sweats all the time.
Well, when The Incredible Hulk first appeared in comic books, people wore sweats only at the gym, and someone wearing them elsewhere would have looked funny--a bit like in Back to the Future when everyone is asking Marty McFly why he is wearing the life jacket which is really a burnt orange colored quilted vest of the sort popular in the 80's but unknown in the 50's. We had sweats, but we didn't use them for general wear, just like we didn't wear pajamas to the store (despite the trend to that direction that developed in the 00's (pronounced "Aughts")).
By the time the television series was made, the Hulk's "look" had been established: the pant legs were ripped out and the shirt reduced to a torn vest. (Yeah, in reality the seat of the pants would have split and the waist burst, but these comics were for kids.) To have changed his look at that point would have been like remaking Superman's costume.
Besides, sweats were not as stretchy then as they are now, as I recall; and even the ones we have now wouldn't have worked particularly well--they do stretch, but they don't return to original size after the fact. He would have to hold up the pants with one hand until he got somewhere where he could get new clothes, and would need a new sweat suit every time.
But it's a clever idea, and the werewolf in Being Human should probably give it some thought, since he similarly destroys all his clothes when he transforms. On the other hand, maybe you don't want people to recognize the outfit.
--M. J. Young
About a week ago in Jhiaxus in June I had a question about Jhiaxus stripping Dr. Brain's psi powers...any thoughts?
I did a quick look through The Big Black Book and found two skills
The closest thing I found in the Psi Section was Psi 15@6 Instill Psychoactivity.
You would want the reverse of that. I'm not sure what the base line would be.
I guess it would it would do RS/??? to one or more Psi skills
If he was using magic Mag 15@3 Permanently Alter Normal Abilities would work.
It would reduce a skill RS/10 skill marks at baseline. -50SM to double it.
It has a 3 hour Time factor at baseline.
The 15@ section is mainly to crease skills from nothing, this is taking them from someone else, I was thinking of the 8@ Mental abilities myself, probably placing it at a 8@10 for the power level.
Inflicting insanity is a mid 8@ skill, I figure taking mental skills is a 8@10
Mistake
There was too much MJ's time wasting BS in these posts. I had to get rid of them.
(Doing Therapy)
Two
Mistake
(Doing Therapy)
If I understand the question, someone wants to attack someone else, Rogue-style, in a way that steals the target's psionic powers so that the defender loses them and the attacker has them.
It's a really terribly potent sort of skill, and I think most players would cry foul if it were used against them; but then, any player who uses such skills has opened the door to it, so it's really got to be examined within the context of player expectations.
If you want to do it psionically, it would seem that you would have to go with this:
Alter Abilities
Psi 14@5
Any skill which directly changes the attributes or skills of an individual, either the user or a target character/creature, which is not explained by some other psionic skill, is a skill under this heading. It includes direct increase or decrease of attributes, psionically enhanced skill ability levels, and instant instillation of skills from one character into another. The baseline suggests that these results are temporary, lasting from hours to days, but permanent changes should be possible at a -20 sit-mod. The baseline also suggests that the skill use follow the limits suggested under skills and attributes concerning the amount a skill or attribute can change from a single event, or be penalized. Reverse result and misdirection are common botches, but enhancement (or handicapping) of the wrong skill or attribute is possible.
The complication of course is that he wants to do all of them, and presumably he wants to do them all quickly. My thoughts are that to do that, you're looking at:
- RS/20 intensities per minute.
- You could either require one roll per minute, in which case you would increase to two rolls per minute at level two and three at 3@, or you could have the roll maintain for RS minutes, that is, if he rolls 05 you're going to do one intensity per minute for five minutes, while a (successful) roll of 80 would do 4 intensities per minute for eighty minutes. The character could of course stop before that and try again.
- As always, a -10 penalty can double any one aspect, so you can make it RS/10 intensities or double the frequency or duration.
- Part of me wants to penalize it because it is both reducing and increasing, but since transfer is stated and arguably it is only moving from one to the other, I'm good with that.
- I would think that the skill would either begin by targeting the skill of highest bias and work down (thus gradually reducing the bias of the target) or else have to be targeted at known specific skills--that is, I can say that the character has used some kind of telekinesis skill to do X, and I'm going to take that skill from him. But the same skill could not do both; you would need different versions of the skill if you wanted both abilities.
- I would treat 1@1 as a single intensity, in both directions. That is, if the target's best skill is a 1@2 Temporal Stasis P14@4 and the attacker takes one intensity, the attacker gains that skill as 1@1 and the defender drops to 1@1; on the next intensity, the attacker rises to 1@2 and the defender loses the skill entirely. (He would have an example for learning it, of 1@2, having known it at that level before.)
- If the attacker already has the skill he is taking from the defender, he can only benefit up to the initial skill ability level of the defender. If the presently attacked SAL is 1@2 and the attacker already has 1@1, then the first intensity raises the attacker to 1@2 and reduces the attacker to 1@1, but the second intensity eliminates the attacker's ability without benefiting the defender. This prevents a parasitic use, whereby a character with a 3@5 telekinesis can raise it to 3@10 by stealing five intensities from a character with a 1@5 SAL. I would probably assess a -20 penalty to eliminate this particular limitation.
Of course it can be done magically, for which I'm inclined to favor a M15@4 Permanently Confer New Abilities, although I might allow it as a variant on M13@5 Steal Strength. I can see it being done technologically perhaps with some sort of 13@ scanning MMI. A bod version probably requires a 14@ linker (either the character himself or a symbiotic linker that can connect to the target without disconnecting from the host).
Good?
--M. J. Young
I'm fine with it, normally I wouldn't do such a skill, but Eric, doesn't like to give people the opportunity to train, coupled with the fact that I was seeking training, I had one device tell me to get it, but then was refused training, it was a frustrating circle. Not enough time goes by to train much in the game, and everyone I met who has the abilities is a god with them. I have no sympathy for a bad guy to get stripped of his powers for attacking me first.
You are probably the most powerful or second most powerful superhuman on your planet. Dr. Abra being the other.
Yes, but this was back on Iceland, where I wasn't even close. I had neither the time, nor really the opportunity to train. The one person who was a decent enough person, thought of me as an ant, and refused. It was frustrating, and you compound that with this world, working his arse off just to get his girl, if you go by the character's prospective, he has faced a lot of adversity. Stripping the powers of an evil telepath, who has caused his woman pain, not even a blip on the morality meter.
Oh, I have no problem with your taking a nasty criminal scum's psi powers.
And Mark is not talking about that either. He's talking about a meta-game issue, I think. You're now opening up the can that says in teh future I can send you to Marvel World and have Rogue steal all your powers....and if you get cheesed off, I can point back to Dr. Brain, and say 'what's good for the goose is good for the gander'.
*shrugs*
So are you asking me if I still want to do it? I personally don't care. Hell I'll even throw in, I don't do it and you can still use it against me. It's a game, eventually I will just stop taking the plot hooks and just plant myself somewhere to train.
I'm not sure if I'm remembering Marvel correctly but,
Doesn't Rouge only steal the powers temporally?
Eh, I think what has me riled up about all this, is that it is assumed that since I am "the most powerful", that I have all the advantages. Facts are, I have a hand tied behind my back at all times, to not kill anyone. On top of that, it seems that all enemies avoid my danger sense, have some psi dampening abilities and have numbers on me. I have "good" guys who are of either no help, put me in dangerous situations with no plans, or just plan hate me. I think I have been in this world three weeks, and I spend all my time earning a living, training others, putting time into plans that go no where. As cool as this world is, having to work to "earn" my woman irks me in and out of character. So the TLDR version is: Frustration combined with lack of training and opportunities, I encourage Eric to use the stealing skill, and I don't want to benefit from it.
TLDR???
Too Long Didn't Read