more Rogue Space goddies!

Okay, Last Monday, I actual  played Rogue Space for the first time. but I used some house rules for currency , so we didn't have to flip thought the book. Requisition Points.
Each Player gets 4 of them. A L weapon/armor  cost 1 Requisition Point, An M Weapon/armor  cost 2  Requisition points, etc.   Gadgets and Devices work the same way-if you want a computer that gives +1 when hacking , that's +1 RP.  But if want something like a strength enhancing gauntlet, the cost will be a combination of how big the bonus is, and how many times it can be used per day (so a clocking field that adds +2 to your attempts to hide, but only has enough charge for 1 uses per day,  would cost 3 RP) I tend to assume that the PCs automatically have things  like food and oxygen mask etc     

More Mass effect Rogue Space stuff (at long last!)

Hey gang, remember my last post where I said I would post the rest of Rogue Space -Mass Effect stuff latter today? well...there was a fire. And a plague. And horde of Locus. Among other things.
But anyhow, here's the alternate version of the mass effect races to Rogue Space:

Asari: Can use a failed biotic power twice before having to 'push' it OR can take two biotic powers at character creation. Restricted to the  Rogue/scoundrel archetype, with +1 to empathy

Turians are restricted to the warrior/solider  archetype, but get half off weapons and armor at character creation

Korgans are also restricted the warrior/soldier  but get a close range head butt attack (M)

Quirans are technicians, with +1 to repairing, and get an extra +1 when dealing with ship systems. In a addition, they get +1 to damage rolls against synthetic enemies

Salarians are also Technicians, with +1 to Scientific, and can move an extra 5 feet/1 space in movement OR can uses tech powers the same way asari use biotic powers

Humans (optionally) get one extra luck at level 1

I have no idea about what to give the Drell, or the Batarians

anyhow, if you need information on weapons and Biotic/Tech powers, go to Mik's Minis Blog, as I feel he did all the hard work for me. I'll get back to you latter, with some of the house rules I used in my first game   

Rogue space -mass effect

I've been recently  been messing with this rules light RPG called   Rogue Space , a space opera game, very easily customizable, and I thought to myself 'wouldn't  this be great for a Mass effect game?' apparently, somebody else had  the same idea! Now, I like how this guy handled weapons, biotics, and tech powers, (and see no reason to change any of it)  but not some much how he handled races-their's only three of them and they seem a bit over powered...So I've decided to post my versions of the mass effect species.

Now, I have two 'versions' of my mass effect race write-up (try saying that 10 times fast) : one is done the way main rules suggest you do alien races: restrict them to one archetype (class, basically) but give them a special ability to make up for it, and a more 'DnD' kind of way-giving each race +1 in one attribute, but -1 in another , with humans having no advantage or disadvantage, letting anybody be any archetype. I'm going to post the second kind first-more balanced, easier to type

Asari: +1 empathy, -1 fighting   

Korgan: +1 hit points, -1 empathy

Salarian : +1 scientific, -1 repairing

Qurian: +1 repairing, -1 acquiring

Drell: +1 acquiring, -1 scientific

Turian: +1 fighting, -1 acquiring

will probably post the alternate versions latter today, and check out the sample rules!   It comes with a mini adventure generator 

Mysteries of the marvel universe episode 1: Of pants and hulks

Of all the bizarre wonders and urine-spilling terrors of the marvel universes, their is none more incredible then Bruce Banner's rampaging alter-ego. But one question about the irradiated behemoth has always linger in the mind of people with far too much time on their hands: what the hell's up with the hulk's pants? They always grow to the with him while every other scrap of cloths is shredded, and their always purple, no matter  what color Banner's original pants.
It's almost as if  the universe is trying to spear/deny us a look at the hulk's pulsating member (unless we're counting the ultimate universe, which were not, because fuck Mark Miller that's why) .
Anyhow, to answer this age old  riddle, we must turn to marvel's first family: The Fantastic Four. Now, the Four make most of their money off Reed's patents, right? and what's one of Reed's most known inventions?  Nigh-unbreakable fabric made out of unstable molecules.
 And who better to take advantage of this discovery than the fashion industry? Now, It's probably too expensive to make regular civilian cloths out of unstable molecules, but whose to say that they couldn't mix a bit of the stuff in with the regular martial for increased durability?
 Perhaps gamma radiation reacts adversely with these trace amount of unstable molecules , turning the pigment of the fabric purple. Perhaps I should   stop taking request from my friends on what to write about. Perhaps I should invest in a bomb shelter and power rangers memorabilia. Perhaps I should  stop asking the internet   

Review Action comics #1 and Stormwatch #1

So...It's been a while  I did one of these, and with the DC reboot just starting, this seemed as good as time as any to get back on the reviewing horse-Let's start with With...
 
Grant Morrison, who wrote the height of Superman's career in All-Star Superman, now gives us his the start of it with Rags Morales on penciling duty.Supes' been around for about six months at the story's start, and it shows-he's not as powerful as we're used too, explosives can  hurt him, and he can't even fly yet. He's also a lot more aggressive, throwing people off of buildings and then catching them to get answers,   harkening back to the golden age, "Champion of the Oppressed/Socialist crusader" Superman back in the thirties. People's opinions about him are mixed-the police and government hate/are terrified of the guy, while middle/lower class love him.
  
Morrison does a great job of characterizing Clark in way that makes him likable and familiar despite his relative youth. He's an idealistic, cocky, 20-something who thinks he has the answers to all of life's problems. And I love the fact that  he's clearly enjoying himself, grinning  away like a football fan on Super Bowl Sunday as he  plays 'tag'  with the cops, actual saying "Catch me if you can!" as he leaps into the air.
Lex Luther is also showing his youth-he just isn't all that concerned with Superman yet-his just helping the government capture so he can get paid his consulting fee-it's just a job to him, not yet an obsession.  In another twist, Clark, Lois and Jimmy Olsen don't even work for the same paper yet-Clark works the Daily Star, the Planet's competitor, but the seeds of who everyone's going to be have already been planted.
        I really enjoyed this issue. Morrison clear love of the character shines through as always and Morales's art is vibrant and alive. It's a fun story in-of and of itself, and ends with an exciting cliffhanger [spoilers] where Luther manages to stun  Superman by shooting him with a bullet...train.



Now, as some of you know, Warren Ellis, comic's tecnophilia bastard sci-fi shaman,   is one favorite writers, especially  his earlier work  for Wildstorm, Stormwatch and The Authority.  Now, while I like that DC isn't letting these characters rot now that Wildstorm's gone kaput, I was a bit nervous about them integrating these products of '90s into the new DC universe (or "DCnU" as the kids these days call it), but Paul Cornell managed to make it work.
  This version of Stormwatch, instead of being a U.N. sponsored police force, has a apparently been protecting the planet from alien/superhuman threats for centuries in secret, and consider the new "super-heroes" rank amateurs. The book jumps right into the action with three plot threads-The solar powered Apollo's attempted recruitment  by Jack Hawksmoor (whose is like Aquaman, but he can talk to cities instead of fish) the projectionist ( who has an alien frontal lobe that let's her remotely access and manipulate the media) and the Martian Manhunter (who is the Martian fucking Manhunter). Meanwhile, in the Himalayas, the immortal Adam-one and Jenny Quantum (spirit of the 21st century), find an alien  Horn (as in the musical instrument), that is several miles long and apparently designed by H.G. Giger, which is in turn connected to recent aggressive actions by the moon.
Yes, that moon.
Stormwatch follows in the footsteps of it's predecessors as High-concept book (as demonstrated by the imminent attack by the fucking moon), and does that well. Despite all that I'v just describe in the last paragraph happening at a breakneck pace, you never fell lost. And while it doesn't focus as much on characterization as it could  due to size of the cast, you still get a generally  idea of who these people are, though that just might be my previous familiarity with the characters talking. The art is... acceptable. Their's nothing really wrong with it,  but it lacks the "pop" a book like these needs. And Midnighter's new costume is fugly -really guys, you put a spike on his chin? Is he going to stab people with his lower face? (okay that be pretty in character, I'll admit) While this is more a 'Set-up' issue, I'd still recommend it.

(And sense I can't find any more relevant  pictures from the issue itself, here's the trailer from YouTube. Enjoy)

The Santa Clause Question

My sister was watching The Santa Clause (staring Tim Allen), and a thought came upon me:

In Santa Clause movies, adults never believe in Santa Clause, despite the fact that, in the movie's reality, Santa Clause DOES exist and DOES fly around the world giving kids presents.

Which leads me to my question: Why don't these people realize that Santa Clause exist? I mean, where do they think the presents-that didn't buy, and yet somehow appear under the tree on Christmas morning -come form? What are they told? Do they think that government welfare ninja's break into their homes and deliver the gifts? Is it a case of mass denial? Or mass cover-up? Why would the governments of the world refuse to acknowledge Santa's existence? I'm mean, I could understand non-Christian theocratic nations, like Iran, or Atheist communist nations like the Soviet union, but why everywhere else? Do they just not like admitting that thousand-year old fat man can slip past all their security measures and Defenses?

Or is it something else? Could it be that whatever mystic mumbo-jumbo Santa uses to travel around the world in one night and get in to any house also alter the memories of parents so that they think that they bought the gifts? What about physical proof, like used wrapping paper and gift receipts and other physical evidence, such as video footage of them buying the presents? Are those just hyper real hallucinations, or can the spell alter reality as well? If so, why would St. Nick go out of his way to deny himself credit? Hell, if you can change the past, why even bother going around the world in the first place, if you can alter history so that the gifts you're going to deliver are already there? Why did I write two whole paragraphs containing nothing but questions?

I've put too much thought in to this

I cross the Nerd Event Horizon

Yesterday, Me and a few of my friends played Risus: The Anything RPG, (Which is complete free). Now, the main reason I've never played Rpgs before was cost ( "Why do I have to buy six $30.00 rulebooks and $10.00 wroth of dice, when they're just going to replace it with a new edition in two years anyway?") , generic settings("oh, not another goddamn ork") and too much math based rules ( "I just want to stab a dragon in the face, not do long division !).

Risus solves all this problems-the rule book is only seven pages long(and free) it can easily be adapted to any setting(and it's free) and it's easy to play( and did I much it's free?) and it's F*&#ing nuts.

This is a game were you can be an drunk ninja fairy princess as long as you can justify it, or at lest be really funny.

Come on, in our game, my friend killed an interdenominational demon by shoving incests candles into it's open wounds and lighting them, causing an explosion.

I got to jet-pack tackle a robot out of an airship window!

Serious, I gave you a link -go right now!