Digest Archive vol 1 Issue 447
From: owner-champ-l-digest@sysabend.org
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 1999 4:50 PM
To: champ-l-digest@sysabend.org
Subject: champ-l-digest V1 #447
champ-l-digest Wednesday, July 7 1999 Volume 01 : Number 447
In this issue:
Unsubscribe info
Re: Jobs for Supers
Re: Starting campaigns
Copyrighted Material...
Re: Copyrighted Material...
Re: Unsubscribe info
Re: Copyrighted Material...
Cyber Hero Stuff
Re: Cyber Hero Stuff
White Wolf Copyright
Re: Copyrighted Material...
Re: Copyrighted Material...
Re: Copyrighted Material...
Re: Copyrighted Material...
Re: Copyrighted Material...
Re: Copyrighted Material...
Online Stores
CHAR: PIKE
Re: Jobs for Supers
DF: Swagger (was Re: Reply about FH Magic System Design)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 00:21:02 -0400
From: The Thunder Bird <thunder@bconnex.net>
Subject: Unsubscribe info
Could someone please send me the unsubscribe info for this mailing list
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 21:55:15 -0700
From: Christopher Taylor <christopherrt@home.net>
Subject: Re: Jobs for Supers
>> I bet that GURPS SuperTemps would be a treasure trove of ideas for this,
>> but here are a couple of ideas.
>> > Any more ideas?
GURPS Supertramp? Wow they really are scrapin the bottom of the barrel, I
mean I like the band, but...
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sola Gracia Sola Scriptura Sola Fide
Soli Deo Gloria Solus Christus Corum Deo
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 1999 01:23:07 -0700
From: Reverend Spith <cptspith@teleport.com>
Subject: Re: Starting campaigns
"Bobby Farris Jr." wrote:
> I have a question on how other GM's start their supers campaigns. Do you
> have the players make individual characters and then bring them into a
> group? Do you tell the players what kind of group they will work for and
> then have them make characters, or do you ask the players to make up the
> kind of group they work for then then the characters?
....
> The problem I have is that everytime I let my players make up their own
> characters and then try to get them together they end up fighting and
> the campaign doesn't last as long.
I find that I used to have to at least verify for myself that a group
of characters would be compatible before bringing them together.
Anymore, though, I'm always gaming with the same group who run different
games with different GMs, so since I already know the gamers'
personality types, all I need is to find a "hook" to get everyone
together to start with.
In fact, a good way to start a campaign is to gather all the finished
characters together (their sheets, not the people), and figure out how
each one's history is connected to or affects the other. Most of the
time, that can spur on new ideas and directions for the campaign while
simultaneously giving the players some "historical" reason for sticking
together until they become a "family."
- --
- -Reverend Spith
"He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized
there was
a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an
afterlife."
- -DOUGLAS ADAMS
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 1999 18:16:58 +0800
From: GAZZA <gazza@wantree.com.au>
Subject: Copyrighted Material...
In the wake of Yahoo/Geocities introducing nasty legal bindings to the
Internet, I was wondering just how strongly copyright can be/will be
enforced here.
Specifically:
I'm in the process of converting the White Wolf games to the Hero
system (if GURPS can do it, so can Hero!) When I'm done, I'd like
to whack up the rules on my web site. Does anyone have any advice
as to whether this would be a bad idea?
To clarify - I'm not really intending to make it playable without
the White Wolf books (background and so forth will be the bare
minimum required to explain the character creation process); I'm
essentially assuming that a GM would use the White Wolf background
and the Hero system rules.
Any advice would be appreciated.
- --
GAZZA
"To know others is wisdom.
To know one's self is enlightenment."
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 08:08:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: Re: Copyrighted Material...
On Wed, 7 Jul 1999, GAZZA wrote:
> In the wake of Yahoo/Geocities introducing nasty legal bindings to the
> Internet, I was wondering just how strongly copyright can be/will be
> enforced here.
>
> Specifically:
>
> I'm in the process of converting the White Wolf games to the Hero
> system (if GURPS can do it, so can Hero!) When I'm done, I'd like
> to whack up the rules on my web site. Does anyone have any advice
> as to whether this would be a bad idea?
At one point, I talked at length with one of the patent lawyers here at
NASA - GSFC about things like this. Basically, my impression is that if
you makeup a set of rules that explain how to convert WW to Hero you are
okay. You are not infringing on the coyright because you are not trying
to sell your product as a 'new' game and you are probably not going to
duplicate any written text from the game (right?). Also, rules themselves
are not copyrightable (As I understand), the look and 'feel' of the game
is. Just like the look ofa superhero isn't copyrightable (which is why DC
& Marvel can use padory images of each others characters from time to time
and get away with it). naturally, such things as 'White Wolf' and 'World
of Darkness' *is* a registered trademark, and you probably want to make a
disclamer to that effect on your site.
On a similar note, I have some 200-250 characters on my webstie, a lot of
who are write ups of assorted copywrited characters. I'm safe becuase my
write ups are abstract representations. The biggest problem with be the
use of trademarked names, but here, I am protected by fair use laws. This
would also help you, as the idea of fair use of a product should cover
being able to describe the product and explain how it can be used in
another game system.
Naturally, I'm not a patent lawyer, and I might be a bit off in my
observations, but this is the impression I got from the lawyer I talked
to.
- --
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html
"Is Hulk's turn to reason with guys now!"
The Hulk, from _The Big Change_
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 1999 08:55:36 -0400
From: Mike Christodoulou <Cypriot@concentric.net>
Subject: Re: Unsubscribe info
At 12:21 AM 7/7/99 -0400, The Thunder Bird wrote:
>Could someone please send me the unsubscribe info for this mailing list
>
Thanks for actually asking. We get a lot of people who simply post
"unsubscribe" notices to the list. (Whether they actually get processed,
I don't know.)
Here's the text you get when you sign up.
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If you ever need to get in contact with the owner of the list,
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This is the general rule for most mailing lists when you need
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[Last updated on: Thu Mar 19 17:18:34 1998]
This is the default list intro.
Hopefully the list-owner will change it
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 1999 06:36:29 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Copyrighted Material...
At 06:16 PM 7/7/1999 +0800, GAZZA wrote:
>In the wake of Yahoo/Geocities introducing nasty legal bindings to the
>Internet, I was wondering just how strongly copyright can be/will be
>enforced here.
>
>Specifically:
>
>I'm in the process of converting the White Wolf games to the Hero
>system (if GURPS can do it, so can Hero!) When I'm done, I'd like
>to whack up the rules on my web site. Does anyone have any advice
>as to whether this would be a bad idea?
>
>To clarify - I'm not really intending to make it playable without
>the White Wolf books (background and so forth will be the bare
>minimum required to explain the character creation process); I'm
>essentially assuming that a GM would use the White Wolf background
>and the Hero system rules.
>
>Any advice would be appreciated.
You're probably safe as long as you post the proper disclaimers
regarding their trademarks (as Michael has already pointed out). To be
really safe, I'd suggest you contact them (if you can find an email address
for them) and tell them what you told us. If you point out that this is
for people who think that their setting is a cool one but would just prefer
to play under the HERO System, and that you're providing just enough
information to explain the character creation process, I doubt that they'd
object.
In fact, you'd probably want to check with them, but they might not even
mind your posting HERO System character sheets for their published
characters, as long as you post just the sheets and not the
already-published backgrounds.
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm
Interested in sarrusophones? Join the Sarrusophone Mailing List!
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/sarrus.htm
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 06:57:28 -0700
From: "Martin Von Cannon" <martian_2099@hotmail.com>
Subject: Cyber Hero Stuff
Anyone know where a good resource for Cyber Hero? I don't have access to
the Cyber Hero Book (local game stores don't carry any hero stuff). Looking
mainly for drugs and their effect, and low level cyberware.
- -Martian
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 11:33:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: Re: Cyber Hero Stuff
On Wed, 7 Jul 1999, Martin Von Cannon wrote:
> Anyone know where a good resource for Cyber Hero? I don't have access to
> the Cyber Hero Book (local game stores don't carry any hero stuff). Looking
> mainly for drugs and their effect, and low level cyberware.
Ihave some cyberpunk stuff at:
www.otd.com/~susano/kazei5.html
- --
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html
"So try to involve Earth as little as possible.
Nothing good shall come from it."
Zeljko Heimer
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 10:55:10 -0500
From: "Daniel" <drake01@flash.net>
Subject: White Wolf Copyright
Kinda Offlist here I know. White Wolf has a webpage explaining what they
prefer tosee on the web or not, it's a link off their webpage.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 12:47:13 EDT
From: SteveL1979@aol.com
Subject: Re: Copyrighted Material...
In a message dated 7/7/99 8:08:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
susano@dedaana.otd.com writes:
<< Basically, my impression is that if
you makeup a set of rules that explain how to convert WW to Hero you are
okay. You are not infringing on the coyright because you are not trying
to sell your product as a 'new' game and you are probably not going to
duplicate any written text from the game (right?). Also, rules themselves
are not copyrightable (As I understand), the look and 'feel' of the game
is.>>
This is one school of thought, and perhaps a valid one. However,
keep in mind that some game companies would disagree with it. Palladium, for
example, maintains with heated fervor that publishing conversions to its
rules infringes on its intellectual property. Back in the day, it sued WOTC
over that very issue (publishing conversions without permission) and obtained
an undisclosed settlement.
<< On a similar note, I have some 200-250 characters on my webstie, a lot of
who are write ups of assorted copywrited characters. I'm safe becuase my
write ups are abstract representations. The biggest problem with be the
use of trademarked names, but here, I am protected by fair use laws. >>
Again, there are a two sides to this issue. One might argue fair
use. Another person might argue that game versions of published characters
are "derivative works" under Title 17, and therefore an infringement for
various reasons. If I owned the rights to one of the characters Michael has
on his website, I'd sue him in a red-hot minute for infringement if I found
out about it.
In these matters, the only certainties are (a) court rulings (alas,
we have no direct precedents on this subject of which I am aware), and (b)
that you should proceed with extreme caution.
Steve Long
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 13:06:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: Re: Copyrighted Material...
On Wed, 7 Jul 1999 SteveL1979@aol.com wrote:
> << Basically, my impression is that if
> you makeup a set of rules that explain how to convert WW to Hero you are
> okay. You are not infringing on the coyright because you are not trying
> to sell your product as a 'new' game and you are probably not going to
> duplicate any written text from the game (right?). Also, rules themselves
> are not copyrightable (As I understand), the look and 'feel' of the game
> is.>>
>
> This is one school of thought, and perhaps a valid one. However,
> keep in mind that some game companies would disagree with it. Palladium, for
> example, maintains with heated fervor that publishing conversions to its
> rules infringes on its intellectual property. Back in the day, it sued WOTC
> over that very issue (publishing conversions without permission) and obtained
> an undisclosed settlement.
Which always struck me as childish.
> << On a similar note, I have some 200-250 characters on my webstie, a lot of
> who are write ups of assorted copywrited characters. I'm safe becuase my
> write ups are abstract representations. The biggest problem with be the
> use of trademarked names, but here, I am protected by fair use laws. >>
>
> Again, there are a two sides to this issue. One might argue fair
> use. Another person might argue that game versions of published characters
> are "derivative works" under Title 17, and therefore an infringement for
> various reasons. If I owned the rights to one of the characters Michael has
> on his website, I'd sue him in a red-hot minute for infringement if I found
> out about it.
What for? How am I infringing on your property? Besides, I'm not
charging anyone to access the site, the characters are marked as created
by the original author and I have not made a profit from this ventire.
Besides, I don't have any money anyway.
- --
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html
"So try to involve Earth as little as possible.
Nothing good shall come from it."
Zeljko Heimer
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 1999 11:04:08 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Copyrighted Material...
At 05:07 PM 7/7/1999 GMT, <owner-champ-l@sysabend.org> wrote:
>From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
>Cc: champ-l@sysabend.org
>Subject: Re: Copyrighted Material...
>
>> This is one school of thought, and perhaps a valid one. However,
>> keep in mind that some game companies would disagree with it.
Palladium, for
>> example, maintains with heated fervor that publishing conversions to its
>> rules infringes on its intellectual property. Back in the day, it sued
WOTC
>> over that very issue (publishing conversions without permission) and
obtained
>> an undisclosed settlement.
>
>Which always struck me as childish.
I tend to agree. It's kinda like suing someone for advertising your
product.
>> << On a similar note, I have some 200-250 characters on my webstie, a
lot of
>> who are write ups of assorted copywrited characters. I'm safe becuase my
>> write ups are abstract representations. The biggest problem with be the
>> use of trademarked names, but here, I am protected by fair use laws. >>
>>
>> Again, there are a two sides to this issue. One might argue fair
>> use. Another person might argue that game versions of published
characters
>> are "derivative works" under Title 17, and therefore an infringement for
>> various reasons. If I owned the rights to one of the characters Michael
has
>> on his website, I'd sue him in a red-hot minute for infringement if I
found
>> out about it.
>
>What for? How am I infringing on your property? Besides, I'm not
>charging anyone to access the site, the characters are marked as created
>by the original author and I have not made a profit from this ventire.
>Besides, I don't have any money anyway.
It's been said many times before, but I guess it needs to be repeated
over and over: whether you're charging for it doesn't make it not an
infringement. Neither does giving the proper credit to the creator.
What matters, under Steve's cited Title 17, is whether you had a proper
license to create the derivative work, which might otherwise have been put
into a sourcebook which the creator could otherwise have charged money for,
either directly or through a license fee.
This is why I say: Whenever possible, always ask the owner of the
original material first!
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm
Interested in sarrusophones? Join the Sarrusophone Mailing List!
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/sarrus.htm
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 14:11:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: Re: Copyrighted Material...
On Wed, 7 Jul 1999, Bob Greenwade wrote:
> >What for? How am I infringing on your property? Besides, I'm not
> >charging anyone to access the site, the characters are marked as created
> >by the original author and I have not made a profit from this ventire.
> >Besides, I don't have any money anyway.
>
> It's been said many times before, but I guess it needs to be repeated
> over and over: whether you're charging for it doesn't make it not an
> infringement. Neither does giving the proper credit to the creator.
> What matters, under Steve's cited Title 17, is whether you had a proper
> license to create the derivative work, which might otherwise have been put
> into a sourcebook which the creator could otherwise have charged money for,
> either directly or through a license fee.
> This is why I say: Whenever possible, always ask the owner of the
> original material first!
With that sort of attitide, I might as well quit. I mean, half of these
people are in Japan, the rest are dead and a few are public domain, so I
can't ask everyone. And you know, Hero has links to websites that state
they offer such things as 'X' for Fuzion (or Hero) where 'X' might be a
published product (the Fuzion sourcebook for "Record of Lodoss War" come
to mind).
- --
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html
"So try to involve Earth as little as possible.
Nothing good shall come from it."
Zeljko Heimer
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 1999 11:40:56 PDT
From: S A Rudy <sarudy@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Copyrighted Material...
Says Michael Surbrook
>On Wed, 7 Jul 1999, Bob Greenwade wrote:
>>... What matters, under Steve's cited Title 17, is whether you had a
>>proper license to create the derivative work,
>>which might otherwise have been put into a sourcebook which
>>the creator could otherwise have charged money for, either
>>directly or through a license fee.
>>This is why I say: Whenever possible, always ask the owner
>>of the original material first!
>
>With that sort of attitude, I might as well quit. I mean,
>half of these people are in Japan, the rest are dead and a few
>are public domain, so I can't ask everyone. And you know,
>Hero has links to websites that state they offer such things
>as 'X' for Fuzion (or Hero) where 'X' might be a published
>product (the Fuzion sourcebook for "Record of Lodoss War"
>comes to mind).
Well, I think that's why the phrase "whenever possible" is
in there.
Also, legal issues aside, by and large, before you get sued,
you'll get a letter saying "hey cut that out" from the
offended party's lawyers. Most of us web-page publishers
are small enough to fly under the radar, and, as Michael
Surbrook commented before, don't have any money anyway.
Charging money for copyright infringements is a good
way to make them stop letting things slide, though.
It's still a good idea to put in attributions, even if
it doesn't help with the copyright law. I have some
vague memory of copyright and plagiarism being separate
issues.
As for the links from Hero's site, I'm no lawyer, but I
think you could make a case that a direct link from Hero's
page constitutes implicit permission to use the material.
The Hero guys are also a smallish, accessible group, so
they're there to ask if you have anything borderline
in mind.
I'm not a legal expert of any stripe, so don't go saying
"Sylvia said it was ok" if you do anything wrong.
S A Rudy http://www.eclipse.net/~srudy
+----------------------------------------------------------+
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 1999 12:02:24 -0700
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Copyrighted Material...
At 06:12 PM 7/7/1999 GMT, <owner-champ-l@sysabend.org> wrote:
>From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
>Cc: champ-l@sysabend.org
>Subject: Re: Copyrighted Material...
>
>> What matters, under Steve's cited Title 17, is whether you had a proper
>> license to create the derivative work, which might otherwise have been put
>> into a sourcebook which the creator could otherwise have charged money for,
>> either directly or through a license fee.
>> This is why I say: Whenever possible, always ask the owner of the
>> original material first!
>
>With that sort of attitide, I might as well quit. I mean, half of these
>people are in Japan, the rest are dead and a few are public domain, so I
>can't ask everyone. And you know, Hero has links to websites that state
>they offer such things as 'X' for Fuzion (or Hero) where 'X' might be a
>published product (the Fuzion sourcebook for "Record of Lodoss War" come
>to mind).
If it's public domain, then of course don't worry about it. You're a
part of the public, and as such you have co-ownership. (On my sarrusophone
page, for instance, I've posted a few arrangements for sarrusophone
quartet, all of music that is, as far as I can tell, in the public domain.
I do have some arrangements for songs whose copyrights are still active,
but I'm not going to post those to the web page.)
Those who are dead have estates, and depending on the laws of the
country in which their copyrights are applied can leave the rights, or the
income thereof, to their heirs.
Note, too, that the copyright owner isn't necessarily the original
creator. To go back to music for a moment, the creative rights to the
songs written by Lennon and McCartney for the Beatles have changed hands
several times; the last I heard, they were owned by Michael Jackson.
This doesn't mean to not do it if you can't get the owner's permission.
Heck, I have a half-dozen adventures on my website that involve characters
from the Champions Universe, and I did them without asking HERO Games at
all. Of course, I also knew that the guys at Hero Games have a very
supportive attitude about fan-generated material.
As for Palladium's (apparent) attitude, they have a perfect legal right
to say that they don't want any fan-generated material, conversion notes
with other systems, or anything else along those lines. By the same token,
the rest of us have an equal right to say that we're just not going to buy
their products or support them. Thus, some GMs may find that they have a
choice between (for instance) the setting in Heroes Unlimited and that in
GURPS Supers, but want to play HERO System, and end up buying their
campaign materials from Steve Jackson Games because Palladium didn't want
any crossover support. Their loss becomes SJG's gain.
But back to your own situation.... what I say is, *if possible* ask the
person or company that owns the copyright. If you can't ask, try to find
out the owner's attitude about fan-generated material.
Often, if you've made a good-faith effort, you can post a derivative
work with a disclaimer. It's possible to run afoul of that, but it isn't
likely, especially if your disclaimer includes a statement that you'll
comply immediately with any cease-and-desist requests from copyright owners
(kinda like my groveling to Pierce Brosnan in my adventure "Arms Against
the Dragon"). The owner of fontfreak.com does this; he has over 2000
shareware and freeware fonts posted to his site, but occasionally a
commercial one sneaks through. He has a disclaimer to that effect, along
with a request to notify him if anyone finds such a font, and has gladly
followed all please-remove requests.
How would I feel about derivative works? Certainly flattered; but what
of the creative rights? In a way, it depends on the work. A while ago,
someone asked permission to post adaptations of my online adventures to the
Palladium system and characters in the Heroes Unlimited universe, and I
didn't have a problem with it (though that person never got around to
actually doing it as far as I know). On the other hand, if I had my novels
published and someone were to post character sheets for the main characters
and equipment in their favorite role-playing game, I'd have mixed feelings
about it. (My request would probably be a good news/bad news thing: you
have to remove this from your website, but how would you like to get your
work in the official RPG supplement and get paid for it?)
Anyway, that's my rambling, semi-organized stream of thoughts on the
matter, for what it's worth (and probably affected by my being a musician
as well as a writer). The real bottom line is that, as Steve implied, it's
very much a grey area that has yet to be definitively settled. The
*safest* way is to try to get permission, or at least find out what the
owner's attitude would be about such a thing, but I wouldn't erase anything
from your website just yet.
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm
Interested in sarrusophones? Join the Sarrusophone Mailing List!
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/sarrus.htm
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 12:58:08 -0700
From: "Martin Von Cannon" <martian_2099@hotmail.com>
Subject: Online Stores
Anyone know of a good online store for Hero Products?
The ones local to me don't carry Hero Products, and Herogames' store is
unavailable.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 1999 16:03:33 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jason Sullivan <ravanos@NJCU.edu>
Subject: CHAR: PIKE
PIKE
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes
15 STR 5 12- 200kg; 3d6
21 DEX 33 13- OCV: 7 / DCV: 7
13 CON 6 12-
13 BODY 6 12-
10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11-
10 EGO 0 11- ECV: 3
13 PRE 3 12- PRE Attack: 2.5d6
11 COM 1 11-
3 PD 0 Total: PD 13 / PDr 10
3 ED 0 Total: ED 13 / EDr 10
5 SPD 19 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12
15 REC 18
46 END 10
38 STUN 10
Total Characteristics Cost: 115
3 Ambidexterity
3 Combat Sense 11-
20 Find Weakness w/ Armor Piercing HKA 13-
3 LightSleep
18 "Superior Grip", +30 STR, 0 END (+1/2); Only Useable for/
in opposition of Disarms (-1 1/2)
15 EC: "Super Regeneration"
a- 9 Armor +10 PD/+10 ED; Attacks still penetrate (-1/4)
b- 15 50% Resistant Physical Damage Reduction
c- 15 Regeneration, 3 BODY per Turn
d- 17 2d6 Aid, SFX: Damage and Fatigue (BODY, STUN, END all at once;
+2), 0 END (+1/2), Persistent (+1/2); Only up to starting values
(-1/2)
30 Multipower: 45 points, "Sword Play"; Restrainable (-1/2)
3u 2d6 HKA, Armor Piercing (+1/2); Restrainable (-1/2)
3u 2d6 HKA, Autofire (+1/2); Requires separate rolls and levels
(-1/4), Restrainable (-1/2)
2u 2d6 HKA, Damage Shield (+1/2); Requires OCV roll (-1/2),
Restrainable (-1/2)
10 Tracking Scent
5 Discriminatory Smell
6 Telescopic Smell: PER +4 to cancel Range Penalties
6 PER +3 w/ Smell
3 Ultrasonic Hearing
12 Running: +6"; 12" / 24"
9 Swimming: +4"; 6" / 24"
Martial Arts: "Sword Play" (Use with Swords)
Cost Name Description OCV DCV Damage/Effect
5 Thrust Defensive Strike +1 +3 STR Strike
4 Lunge Martial Strike 0 +2 STR +2d6, Strike
5 Slash Offensive Strike -2 +1 STR +4d6, Strike
4 Parry Martial Block +2 +2 Block,Abort
4 Dodge Martial Dodge -- +5 Dodge, Affects all attacks, Abort
4 Disarm Martial Disarm -1 +1 Disarm, +10 STR to Roll
1 Use with HtH
15 +3 w/ Sword Play
Background Skills:
3 Acrobatics 13-
3 Breakfall 13-
1 FAM: Weaponsmith: Swords 8-
5 Climbing 14-
3 Combat Piloting: Parachute 11-
3 Combat Piloting: SCUBA; artificial gills 11-
1 FAM: Demolition 8-
1 FAM: Navigation 8-
1 FAM: Tactics 8-
3 AK: Mountains 11-
3 KS: Intelligence & Espionage of Europe 11-
3 KS: Military Procedure 11-
1 KS: Communications 8-
1 KS: Papal Swiss Guard 8-
1 KS: Vatican 8-
2 PS: Papal Swiss Guard/Mercenary 11-
1 SC: Explosives 8-
3 Shadowing 11-
3 Stealth 11-
3 Survival 11-
3 Tracking 11-
9 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms Group, Uncommon Weapons (All)
6 +2 with Climbing, AK: Mountains, & Survival
9 +3 with Tracking, Shadowing, & Stealth
0 Language (Native): Italian
3 Language (Fluent w/ Accent): Swiss
3 Language (Fluent w/ Accent): English
Total Powers & Skills Cost: 327
Total Character Cost: 442
100+ Disadvantages
5 Enraged: When wrongly accused or insulted (Uncommon, 8-, 11-)
10 Hunted: Italian Government (More Pow, NCI, Lim Geo, 8-, Mild)
Psychological Limitations:
10 Very Serious About Combat (Common, Moderate)
10 Views Self as Protector of the Common Man (Common, Moderate)
10 Private; Hates Public Exposure (Common, Moderate)
10 Perfectionist (Common, Moderate)
10 Must Prove He's Better than Other Duelist (Common, Moderate)
10 Prefers One-on-One fights; Will Seek Out Single Combat (Common,
Moderate)
20 Susceptibility: EGO based attacks, X2 STUN
247 Experience
Total Disadvantage Points: 95 (342 w/ Experience Bonus)
Designers Notes:
Very little is known about Luccio Spada. It is believed he was a
native of Florence, Italy. His parents were simple, good natured people
who raised Luccio in the midsts of a rural-palatial backdrop.
Luccio was severely maimed in a thresher accident when he was six
years old. Luccio was rushed to a near by hospital by a local physician,
near death. His condition stabilized post-surgery, and he made a
miraculous recovery, despite the crippling injuries and massive blood
loss.
Luccio was deeply disturbed by his accident and the subsequent
injuries. Advised by his doctors, Luccio's parents, unable to care for
the young boy's trauma themselves, let the government take custody of him
while he underwent treatment.
Luccio's regenerative properties were discovered by an mysterious
organization along the border of norther Italy. Luccio was brought to a
special training facility for paranatural individuals in Switzerland.
Luccio's abilities were tested, and he was revealed to have a phenomenal
acuity with his sense of smell, as well as being highly dexterous. Luccio
started to learn the majority of his fencing skills at this time, at which
he acceled.
Upon reaching adulthood, Luccio was trained by the Swiss Guard's
field division, border division, and mountain division, becoming
acquainted with a number of military and survival skills.
After a short tour of duty as a mercenary at the Vatican, Luccio
decided he wanted to return to his native home of Florence to live a
relatively normal life, hoping he would be reunited with his parents.
Unfortunately, his parents were long dead.
In a near-by province, a super powered villain called La Nostra
was on a crime spree. Driven by his strong sense of duty and his desire
to bury his past, he donned black fatigues and confronted the villain.
Luccio failed, but managed to save the lives of a number of
individuals. Defeated but undaunted, at that moment Luccio decided to use
his abilities to become a costumed vigilante. Since then, he has defeated
a number of criminals, but has tried to remain out of the public eye. He
has been known, by the locals, as "the Pike."
In the past year, Luccio has grown more ambitious. Using various
reward monies, he has taken up a quest to span the globe to further hone
his abilities.
Description:
Luccio appears to be in good shape. Luccio has brown hair with
sandy highlights and dark eyes, which compliment his honey-tan skin.
Luccio always carries himself with a certain heir of professionalism,
which seemingly to transcends any pretense of insecurity or levity.
Luccio's costume consists of a drawstring, buckle, zipper, and
leather body suit that covers his body from head to toe. The only other
markings are radiant and long navy blue "S" shaped swirls that emanate
from his right eye and swirl down his suit and across the back of his mask
like singular stylized licks of flames. His outfit is occasionally
accompanied by a black leather duster with a similar pattern.
Luccio carries two adonized black chromed swords, acid etched
with a bluing compound with swirls similar to the ones on his suit.
Powers Notes:
Luccio has a number of powers. Luccio has many enhanced
Characteristics, the most notable of which is his "Superior Grip"
ability, which manifests itself as hand-grip and upper arm strength, which
(along with his natural skill) aids him during Disarm maneuvers.
His ability of "Sword Play" was bought Restrainable due to the
fact he can use any sword, is seldom disarmed, and carries two swords.
The swords need not be exceptional. The 2d6 HKA is used to represent
"cinematic" skill, which is considered a combination of "natural" ability
and forearm strength. Each slot is considered to be a separate technique,
the first being a strong strike, the second being simultaneous uses of
both swords, and the last being a counterstrike maneuver.
Luccio is gifted with a keen sense of smell, which he often uses
to track enemies, as well as high/low frequency hearing.
The most phenomenal ability Luccio possess is his regeneration.
The slots in the EC represent different facets of this ability. His Armor
is instantaneous regeneration, bought with the Limitation "Attacks still
penetrate." NND attacks that require body damage and attempts to act as
a human bullet shield are both examples of situations where his Armor is
disadvantaged. The Damage Reduction represents Luccio's ability to
instantaneously regenerate from harm (bought Physical Only to represent
energy, such as Electricity and Fire, tend to cause burns and cauterized
wounds, which are ultimately more difficult to heal). Regeneration is
self explanatory. His Aid primarily exists to recover from Drains and
unconsciousness.
Tactics:
If given the opportunity, Luccio will observe his opponent. After
attempting to Find Weakness, he will immediately attack his opponent with
his AP HKA. If that attack proves to be effective, he will use his
Autofire HKA. If either attack proves ineffective, then he will switch to
his third multipower slot and stay on the defensive, using his
maneuverability and parrying to his best advantage in hopes of wearing his
opponent out.
When fighting another Duelist, Luccio will attempt a Disarm,
sticking with his counter striking third Multipower slot and attacking
with carefully executed Martial Arts maneuvers.
Luccio tries to "match" himself with one equivalently powered
opponent, preferring Duelist or Bricks to Fliers or Energy Projectors.
The only exception to this would be a Entangler, which he would attack to
disable.
Disadvantages Notes:
Luccio disadvantages manifest primarily from psychological
problems he had developed from his childhood on.
His Psychological Limitations are set by the fact that he needed
training and purpose to reconstruct his life. He understands the
seriousness of fighting and being hurt. Being so close to his own
mortality, but being lucky enough to have lived, makes him protective of
the common man. He dislikes the media, who often glorify the exploits of
dangerous criminals and twist them into entertainment. He also likes to
certain a certain amount of distance from exposure. He is very critical
of himself, and strives for perfection in all things. He wants to be
exceptional at swordsmanship, and he often strategicly strikes to reach
that end.
His susceptibility is a reflection of his instability as well as
an indication of his mind's unfamiliarity with mentalism.
Finally, the Italian government wants Luccio to be their hero.
They try to make his life difficult if he refuses their offers.
Final Notes: Since the Pike isn't well known abroad, his arrival in a
HERO SuperHeroic setting can cause a bit of a stir. Since he is not big
on publicity, he tends to lurk in the shadows. His dark costume
vigilante-type actions, deadly method of attack, and seriousness will
further foster suspicion and confusion.
Pike is best used as a mercenary, vigilante, or rival.
(Pike, aka Luccio Spada created by Jason Sullivan, character sheet created
by Michael Surbrook)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 1999 13:28:47 -0700
From: Mark Lemming <icepirat@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Re: Jobs for Supers
Christopher Taylor wrote:
>
> >> I bet that GURPS SuperTemps would be a treasure trove of
> >> ideas for this, but here are a couple of ideas.
> >> > Any more ideas?
>
> GURPS Supertramp? Wow they really are scrapin the bottom
> of the barrel, I mean I like the band, but...
Supertemps has three divisions that involve supers:
Guardian division which is the usual super fare
Industrial which covers the non-combat aspects.
Entertainment covers the hollywood aspect.
They concentrate mostly on the guardian division, but many of
the supers mentioned made a living off their powers first.
Not a bad book if you can find it cheap. Mixed Doubles has
a couple as well. Including a villain with precog and
emotion sense that's working his way up in politics.
- -Mark
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 13:49:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Steven J. Owens" <puff@netcom.com>
Subject: DF: Swagger (was Re: Reply about FH Magic System Design)
> On Wed, 30 Jun 1999, Rodger Bright wrote:
> > > I thought the Blademaster package deal had a Distinctinve Features disad
> > > built in?
> > You are right, it does. But it is: DF: Blademaster Swagger.
> > Almost anyone could have a swagger as such, but I maybe should have made
> > it a Psych. Lim.: Feels superior to all other swordsman.
Dr. Nuncheon writes:
> You could have it be chosen from a pool of similar-value Disads, to allow
> a little more customization. Say, 'pick 15 points of disads from the
> following list:'
>
> DF: Blademaster (this would be available if they advertised their nature)
> Reputation
> Psych Lim: Wants to be the greatest swordsman: must seek out and challenge
> other swordsmen, etc.
Having a swagger be a distinctive feature is a *bit* much to ask
for. You could have a certain kind of walk be a distinctive feature,
but it would depend a lot onthe campaign milieux. For example, if
horses and other riding beasts are extremely rare in a campaign, then
a bowlegged walk might be a distinctive feature. But even then, I'm
not sure; is a feature distinctive if you can just stop doing it?
As with the many-strike attack previously discussed in this
thread, you might make some detailed role-playing rules about letting
skilled martial artists and experienced combatants make perception
rolls to spot distinctive aspects of how the blademaster walks,
stands, moves, etc.
In the real world, for example, put a judo or karate
practitioner, a tai chi practitioner, and an american boxer (to pick
three extremes that are easy to stereotype :-) in the same room and
watch how they walk:
The american boxer will tend to walk with his knees slightly
bent, will tend to have his weight forward, on his toes, though his
heels may not actually leave the ground in normal movement (they will
tend to do so in the ring). His weight will tend to be evenly
distributed between his feet, though he will tend to stand with one
foot forward, one foot back, and maybe at a perpendicular angle to the
nearest person. He may tend to crouch a bit, particularly if startled
into a defensive posture. Watch where his hands tend to rest.
Speaking of his hands, expect to find some thickening and callusing of
the knuckles, although not necessarily *only* on the knuckles. He may
tend to move in short, shuffling steps, and in combat will tend to
stay in the same lead (usually his off (weak) hand forward).
The karate/judo practioner will tend to be flat-footed and in a
very low, centered, stable stance. He'll tend to have his weight
evenly distributed over the soles of his feet, even to the pont of
having his heel flush against the ground when a "normal" person would
have his heel lifted slightly up. He'll tend to pick his feet up and
put them down, and otherwise not move them. He'll tend to step
slightly out to the side as he walks, resulting in a slightly wider
stance (or perhaps caused by the habitual wide/low stance). His hands
will tend to rest near his side, and he'll tend to face people
straight on, instead of being turned slightly. Depending on the
specific style, he may have callusing of the knuckles, the ridge of
his palm (the area that would strike the target in a "karate chop").
A tai chi practioner will tend to stand and walk with his feet
flat, with the weight on the heels. One leg (usually the back leg)
will tend to have more of the weight on it (60/40 or 70/30 split).
Legs and knees will tend to be slightly flexed but not as much as the
others. In motion, his weight will shift very smoothly from one leg
to the other, tending to maintain that uneven split (the imagery
sometimes used in training is to feel the weight "filling" one leg and
emptying from another). The spine will be generally kept very
straight and vertical, as with the the karate/judo practitioner.
Calluses less pronounced than the others, on the palm if present at
all.
Other natural motions can reflect the training style. Stretching
is an obvious one, but also things as simple as how they pick
something up off the floor, or how they redistribute their weight to
lift or push something, or how they reposition themselves if somebody
bumps into them unexpectedly.
Also, issues like angle of the head, habitual mannerisms, where
they tend to look, whether they scan the surroundings or tend to use
peripheral vision and a gestalt approach, can indicate the presence of
training and possibly the type of training.
Obviously all of these can be hidden - or faked - and somebody
who's studied several styles may be able to deliberately adopt the
mannerisms of a given style, or may have an odd combination of
mannerisms (typically the mannerisms go with a general strategic
approach, however, and hence you don't see major elements of different
mannerisms). But the ability to consistently, constantly keep up such
a facade, particularly when surprised or startled, is another thing.
Also, the hardest thing to fake is being totally natural and relaxed.
It's much easier to actively fake something than to fake the absence
of something.
Also, note that a martial artist with a limited exposure to
different training styles may in fact underestimate an opponent who
trained in a different style. Many schools are opinionated about
stances and promulgate attitudes about "poor" stance or posture that
may translate into disdain for an opponent who is in fact highly
trained, but in an art from a very different background.
Steven J. Owens
puff@netcom.com
puff@guild.net
------------------------------
End of champ-l-digest V1 #447
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Date: Monday, September 06, 1999 10:38 AM