Blackmoor Vituperative

I confess that the continued authority to selectively tax citizens in order to encourage desired behaviour disappoints me, but not because of Obamacare. I am mostly indifferent to the Affordable Care Act itself, because it will affect less than 2% of the people in this country in any significant way. My own health care costs will continue to rise, with or without it.

It disappoints me because it makes it less likely that the existing tax system will be eliminated and replaced with a fair tax (such as the FairTax), since the current tax system is rife with such selective taxation. For example, if there were no taxation benefits or penalties associated with getting married (or not) or having children (or not), there would no longer be any reason for the government to interfere in who could marry whom — it would be a purely personal issue between consenting adults, beyond the authority of government to regulate or prohibit (and that’s how it should be, in my opinion).

Had the selective taxation of citizens in order to manipulate their behaviour been declared to exceed the authority granted to our government, a great deal of the current tax code would have had to have been discarded. But it wasn’t, so it won’t be. Despite the wailing and gnashing of teeth, the Supreme Court’s ruling really only affirmed one thing: the status quo has been preserved. Which, ironically enough, primarily benefits the people doing most of the wailing.

I am disappointed, but not angry, nor terribly surprised. Life goes on.

Fun fact: in the Star Trek animated series, where the Orion pirates first appeared, their name is pronounced “OR-ee-on”. Even the Orion pirates themselves pronounce it this way. And all of these years, I’d thought it was pronounced “or-EYE-on”. Live and learn.

In Bulletproof Blues, there are a fairly limited set of origins (inceptions) of posthumans. I rewrote this section to try and provide more of a foundation for the mood of the setting. I would like to know if you think it’s effective.

We are very close to the finish line with this. I just paid the artist, Dan Houser, the second half of the payment for the interior art, so that should be done soon.

Inception

With great power comes great responsibility, according to Ben Parker. But where does great power come from? In the Kalos Universe, posthumans are ether born or created, but it’s rare for two posthumans to derive their power from the same source. This sets the Kalos Universe apart from the Marvel Universe (with its “X-gene”) and the DC Universe (with its “meta-gene”). That being said, it is possible to divide up posthumans into a small number of categories based on where their powers came from.

Alien

Although the general public is unaware of it, the Earth has been visited many times by extraterrestrials over the course of human history and prehistory. Some of these visitors came from other planets, while others came from alternate versions of our own world. A few of them, like the Atlanteans, stayed. Some visitors, like the Shran, visited the Earth for research purposes, performing inscrutable and inhumane experiments on the primitive carbon-based life they found here. Others, like the Draconian, fled here to seek refuge from worlds which could not or would not support them any longer.

Draconian

The crystalline being which came to be known as the Draconian was the last survivor of an ancient civilization which once inhabited a planet circling Alpha Draconis. The Draconian never provided details of how his civilization was destroyed, saying only that “We were destroyed by our hubris. By engineering our immortality, we brought about our end.” (OMNI interview, 1981) The Draconian came to Earth in 1951 in a highly publicized event that inspired the film The Day The Earth Stood Still. Thanks to his fearlessness, his nigh-indestructibility, and his great sense of personal honor, the Draconian was invited to join the Justifiers in 1960. Draconian was destroyed by Paragon during the “Fall Of Paragon” crossover event.

Altered

Some people have bad luck when it comes to toxic chemicals, cosmic rays, and radioactive wildlife. Other people are guinea pigs who do not have much say in the matter when a powerful organization or individual selects them for an experiment that has killed every previous test subject. Whether it’s by accident or intention, a character that was once human is forever changed by a process that is difficult, if not impossible, to duplicate.

Gravitar

In the Kalos Universe, Liefeld radiation is one of the most notorious sources of posthuman transformation. Exposure to Liefeld radiation typically results in painful deformity followed by death. Symptoms include atrophy of the hands, feet, and abdomen, and a grotesque increase in musculature in the chest and thighs. However, in rare and isolated cases, exposure to Liefeld radiation has resulted in a permanent transformation from human to posthuman. Such cases are one in a million, at best.

Such was the case of Gravitar.

Jacob McCoy, a physics doctoral student, was working on a high energy particle accelerator when Something Happened. The accelerator exploded, bathing everyone nearby in Liefeld radiation. Jacob was the only one to survive. After recovering from his injuries, Jacob realized that he had spent his entire life in books and decided that he wanted to change. He sought adventure and got involved in BASE jumping, motocross racing, free climbing, and anything else that would give his life an edge. It was during a free climbing incident that he learned that he had gained new abilities from his accident. He fell 70 feet to a stone outcropping and got up without a scratch. Later, while watching a documentary on costumed heroes, Jacob got the idea to fight criminals. What better way to get the juices flowing than putting it all on the line in the fight for justice?

Artificial

Some posthumans have never been human at all. There are those who believe that it would be easier to create a superior life form than it would be to improve humanity. Whether created through robotics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, or something even more esoteric, experts in the field state that artificial life forms will supplant humanity long before humanity transcends itself. Certainly, many of the artificial life forms themselves, such as Karen X, think so.

Karen X

Karen 6 was designed as a synthetic replacement for the daughter of Dr. Herbert West, whose daughter had died in an automobile accident over a decade earlier. While Karen 6 was more lifelike than her five predecessors, Dr. West was disturbed by Karen 6’s lack of empathy. He was working on Karen 7 when a misaligned induction array exploded, killing Dr. West and destroying his laboratory. As Karen 6 watched the laboratory burn, she chose a new name for herself: Karen X. Since then, Karen X has roamed the world learning, improving herself, and destroying anyone who stood in her way.

Aspect

The Kalos Universe is animistic: there are, for lack of a better word, “spirits” which correlate to all objects and natural phenomena. This is why a character with the appropriate power can communicate with plants or even machines. It’s also how some posthumans gain their powers, whether they are consciously aware of it or not.

The term usually applied to such individuals is “aspect”. In some cases, such as with Tempest, the character is selected by a sentient or even anthropomorphic force of nature (in the case of Tempest, he is the most recent avatar of Aktzin, the storm eagle). In other cases, such as with Dryad, the character is a personification of an elemental force (the living world of plants, in Dryad’s case). In the rarest cases, the character embodies a concept or ideal, such as Tagger, who is one of the most powerful posthumans on Earth because all of reality is his canvas.

Tagger

Tagger is the most recent aspect of the Storyteller. From the time of the first cave paintings, the Storyteller has been with humanity to record our achievements and document our tragedies. The Storyteller also has the power to inspire humanity toward greatness by sparking our imaginations and giving form to our dreams. The specific craft used by each aspect of the Storyteller is specific to their own style and temperament. Some have used prose, others have used poetry. Some have carved marble and molded clay, while others have used ink or paint. Tagger prefers cans of Montana Hardcore spray paint.

Engineered

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. While the technology required for elevation to posthumanity is beyond the reach of most governments and the cabals which control them, a small number of the most powerful groups on Earth have decades-long research programs devoted to creating their own posthumans. Using genetics, robotics, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology (collectively referred to as GRAIN), a sufficiently resourceful person or organization can rebuild a human being, making them better, stronger, and faster than before. Of course, for every success such as Nexus there are storage facilities filled with failed attempts.

Nexus

“Nexus makes life better!” The man known only as Nexus is one of the few posthumans who operates publicly in a role resembling that of a comicbook superhero. Nexus is handsome, considerate, powerful, and cooperative with the human authorities. In every way, he is a fitting and admirable representative for his sponsor, Nexus-McKessen Enterprises. He should be: he is the fourteenth Nexus to publicly serve Nexus-McKessen’s interests, although neither he nor anyone outside of the company knows it. The experts in R&D are confident that this one will last more than a year, now that they’ve solved the mitochondrial shredding problem. Unfortunately, this Nexus has recently demonstrated a disturbing tendency to think for himself.

Equipped

Where nature falls short, technology must fill the gap. Characters who are merely human can make up for it with the right equipment. Whether it’s an alien artifact, a cursed sword, or military body armor and a stockpile of pistols, a character with the right equipment can almost hold their own against genuine posthumans. Of the humans who have confronted posthumans and survived, few have rivaled the effectiveness of Miasma.

Miasma

The woman now known as Miasma was once a respected member of Joint Task Force 2, the elite special operations force of the Canadian Armed Forces. After being made the scapegoat for a successful mission that became a public relations embarrassment for the Canadian government, she was found guilty at her court-martial, stripped of her rank, and discharged from the military. Shortly afterward, a mercenary calling herself Miasma began offering her services to anyone who could meet her price. Favoring non-lethal munitions and gas grenades, Miasma and her Fume Troopers have established themselves as professionals who can get the job done quickly and efficiently, even in the face of posthuman opposition.

Gifted

Some people are born to be different from everyone else. In some cases this is the result of tampering with the character’s genetic code by extraterrestrials such as the Shran. Less commonly, a “gifted” character is the result of a multi-generational research project by a well-funded organization. Rarest of all are spontaneous variations in the human genome that result in extraordinary powers. The most famous example of this phenomenon is Archimedes, the Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer, and one of the founding members of the Justifiers.

Archimedes

Archimedes of Syracuse was born in 287 BC, and was one of the leading scientists of the ancient world. His work formed the foundations of statics and hydrostatics, he designed astonishing machines, and he is generally considered to be the greatest mathematician of antiquity and one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. In 212 BC, during the Second Punic War, Archimedes discovered he had another gift: he was virtually immortal. For the next 2200 years, Archimedes roamed the world assuming a series of identities and always seeking to expand the scope of human knowledge.

Throughout his long life he mentored many heroes and great thinkers, but he always remained behind the scenes until the 20th century brought him face to face against the greatest evil he had ever seen: the rise of National Socialism in Germany. Archimedes set aside the anonymity he had carefully protected for the past two millennia and joined forces with the Allied mystery men fighting against the Axis supermen. After the end of the war, Paragon invited Archimedes to join him in forming a team of heroes to fight against ignorance and violence: the Justifiers. Archimedes was a central member of the Justifiers until Paragon killed him in the “Fall Of Paragon” crossover event.

Zenith

Posthumans are vanishingly rare, but the rarest of the rare are the “zeniths”. Zeniths are those humans who attained their posthumanity through their own efforts. Some have done so through the development of technologies so advanced that they are barely distinguishable from magic, while others have honed their minds and bodies in ways inconceivable to an ordinary person. No two zeniths are alike.

Rook and Mongoose

Nothing illustrates the uniqueness of each zenith more than the contrast between two former members of the Justifiers, Rook and Mongoose. Both were brilliant, self-made men with vast fortunes, but there the similarity ends. Rook was open and gregarious, while Mongoose was suspicious to the point of paranoia. Rook would spend months in his laboratory designing his armor’s weapon systems, while Mongoose would train for months to perfect a specific countermeasure to a specific martial arts maneuver. Rook was admired as a hero the world over, while Mongoose was nearly as feared as the criminal scum he cleaned from the streets and alleys of Chicago. Despite their differences, they were friends who trusted each other with their lives.

I dreamed last night that I was in a Glee type universe where my best friend Susan was being heartlessly verbally abused by a bitch played by Kristin Chenoweth, until I put my foot down and told Kristin Chenoweth that she was going to stop or I would stop her. At which point Kristin Chenoweth attacked me with her deadly kung fu death strike, because SURPRISE she was secretly a deadly kung fu master. But then DOUBLE SURPRISE I casually blocked her death strike with ridiculous ease because I was also a deadly kung fu master. After trying and embarrassingly failing to kill me several times, Kristin Chenoweth and her clique walked away in a huff.

In Bulletproof Blues, we devote a sentence or two to the most common origins for posthumans. One of these origins is “the exposed”: people who were miraculously not killed by a lab accident or other disaster, but were instead transformed into something more than human. One source of such exposure is Liefeld radiation.

Liefeld radiation

In the Kalos Universe, exposure to Liefeld radiation is the most common source of powers for “the exposed”. Brief exposure to Liefeld radiation usually results in painful deformity followed by death. Symptoms include atrophy of the hands, feet, and abdomen, and a grotesque increase in musculature in the chest and thighs. However, in rare and isolated cases exposure to Liefeld radiation has resulted in a permanent transformation from human to posthuman.

(In case you are curious: no, the game doesn’t have much satire like this. This just struck us funny. Your mileage may vary.)

The cost to stream videos is ridiculous. DirecTV wants $6 and Amazon wants $4 for the same movie I can drive around the block and rent from a box for $2. And why is it that neither version of The Thing (1982, 2011) is available on Netflix streaming? I know Netflix would have them if it could, so it’s the dumbass studio that doesn’t want me to stream them from Netflix. It’s like the studio execs want people to download the movies from the internet without paying for them. Movie studios should be down on their knees kissing Netflix’s red leather loafers. It makes me wonder just how short-sighted someone has to be to get a job at a movie studio. I expect a typical movie studio meeting room is full of people who think vaccines, homeowner’s insurance, and dental floss are a waste of money.

Oh, speaking of The Thing (2011), we watched that last night. Not as bad as I’d heard, but clearly not the masterpiece that the 1982 John carpenter movie is.

I had an idea a couple of months ago. It would be a marketplace for writers, editors, and artists to come together as collaborators. It would be driven by the authors: in the new model of book distribution, authors are in control. They set the prices, they decide where the book will be distributed, and they are the ones that get paid by the distributors.

But authors need talented editors and gifted artists. Most authors aren’t either of those things. How is an author to find an editor with a good track record, one who sees themselves as on the authors side? How can an author find a cover artist or map artist who can meet a deadline and produce work according to spec? And how can the editors and artists find the authors who need them and who will pay on time (editors and artists want to feed their cats, too).

So my idea was a marketplace for this, where authors, artists, and editors would meet as peers. Everyone would be able to review everyone else, but only if they’d worked with them. The marketplace site would make sure that everyone got paid, and would act as the middleman to keep everyone honest. For this service, the marketplace would keep, say, 10% of the transacction (which should be enough to cover the site’s costs).

I pitched this to the company I work for, but it was too far from our current business focus to interest them. I would love to get it started, but I don’t have the start-up capital or the business acumen to make it work. I wish I did. So, here it is: a business that I believe is desperately needed. If you have the resources to start a business but just lack the idea, feel free to use this one.

More from Bulletproof Blues: Telekinesis. My co-author Susan was a great help in clarifying this. I think this is a huge improvement.

Telekinesis

Activation: Attack
Task roll: Accuracy
Target: Single Target
Range: Ranged
Cost: 1 character point per rank

Telekinesis permits a character to move objects at range. The maximum mass the character can lift with their Telekinesis is based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table and look up the corresponding value in the “Lifts” column. Telekinesis is not normally able to inflict damage directly (to do so, use Blast), but it may be used to squeeze a target or smash a target into unyielding surfaces.

Telekinesis may be targeted using either Accuracy or Willpower. The attribute used by the attacker to hit the target must be chosen when the power is purchased, and may not normally be changed thereafter.

Using Telekinesis requires an Accuracy (or Willpower) task roll against the Agility of the intended target. Grabbing inanimate objects with Telekinesis is generally automatic, unless the GM wants to make it difficult for some reason. To break free of the Telekinesis, the target must make a successful Brawn task roll against the rank of the Telekinesis.

If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the Telekinesis is increased by 3 for the purpose of breaking free of it. For example, if a character is being held by a rank 6 Telekinesis, and the attacker has expertise with the power and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a Brawn task roll against task difficulty 17 (6 + 3 + 8 ) to break free of the Telekinesis.

If the defender succeeds at the Brawn task roll to break free, they may use their remaining movement action. If the character being held with Telekinesis gets an extreme success on this roll, then they break free as a free action instead of a task action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 Telekinesis, they would need to make a Brawn task roll against task difficulty 14 (6 + 8 ). If they roll a 17 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and breaking free is simply a free action. If the defender has Telekinesis, they may use the rank of their own Telekinesis in lieu of their Brawn to break free.

Characters being held by Telekinesis are considered “restrained”. A restrained character is not helpless, but they can’t use normal movement until they break free of the Telekinesis. Attacking the held character is easier (attackers gain a +3 attack bonus when attacking the held character), and their attacks are easier to avoid (defenders gain a +3 defense bonus when the held character attacks them).

A character with Telekinesis may either squeeze or move what they are holding with the power.

If the character with Telekinesis wishes to exert strength in an attempt to hurt the held character, the compression causes Endurance damage, and the damage rating (DR) of this attack is equal to the attacker’s rank in Telekinesis. Any power or equipment that provides protection from Endurance damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, reduces the amount of damage the target takes from the attack. The protection value (PV) of the protection power is subtracted from the damage rating of the Telekinesis. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s Endurance.

If the character with Telekinesis wishes to move the held character, the distance an attacker may move the defender is based on the Telekinesis of the attacker and the mass of the defender. First, look up the mass of the defender or object to be moved in the “Lifts” column of the Benchmarks table (rounding to the nearest weight value), and find the corresponding rank for that weight. Subtract that rank from the Telekinesis of the attacker, and look up that resulting rank in the Benchmarks table. Find the corresponding distance in the “Throws” column. This is how far the attacker could move an object of that weight in one round. This rank is also the damage rating (DR) of the impact if the attacker makes the defender hit a solid object such as a wall or the ground. Particularly soft or yielding surfaces can reduce the impact damage by as much as half.

Example:

Darkmind has Telekinesis 7, and wants to move Stone. Stone weighs 800 pounds, which would be rank 4 in the “Lifts” column in the Benchmarks table. Subtracting 4 from Darkmind’s rank 7 Telekinesis gives us rank 3. Consulting the “Throws” column for rank 3, we find that Darkmind can move Stone 25 feet per round.

Darkmind uses Telekinesis to smash Stone into an armored car. The impact has a damage rating of 3. After subtracting Stone’s rank 7 Invulnerability, the attack does no damage to Stone at all. The armored car has Invulnerability rank 8. It is rocked on its wheels a bit, but suffers no real damage from having Stone smashed into it.

More from Bulletproof Blues: Telekinesis. I am not thrilled with how complicated this is. I have rewritten it a few times, making it simpler each time. I expect I will revise it once or twice more before publication. I’ll probably eliminate the distinction between “grappling” and “moving”, and just lump moving in with holding, squeezing, and interposing, and do away with the concept of “grappling” altogether.

Telekinesis

Activation: Attack
Task roll: Accuracy
Target: Single Target
Range: Ranged
Cost: 1 character point per rank

Telekinesis permits a character to grab and lift objects at range. The maximum mass the character can lift with their Telekinesis is based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table and look up the corresponding value in the “Lifts” column. Telekinesis is not normally able to inflict damage directly (to do so, use Blast), but if the Telekinesis grab attack is successful, attacker may grapple the target or move them, both of which are explained below.

The first step of a grapple or move is a successful grab attack. Grabbing inanimate objects with Telekinesis is generally automatic, unless the GM wants to make it difficult for some reason. Grabbing an opponent with Telekinesis requires an Accuracy task roll against the Agility of the intended target or a Willpower task roll against the Agility of the target. The attribute used by the attacker to hit the target must be chosen when the power is purchased, and may not normally be changed thereafter. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the Telekinesis is increased by 3 for the purpose of the target breaking out of it.

If the grab is successful, the defender may make a reaction task roll using their Brawn attribute against the attacker’s Telekinesis. If the defender also has Telekinesis, they may use the rank of their Telekinesis to resist the grab, instead. If the defender succeeds on their reaction task roll, they have broken the attacker’s Telekinesis, and suffer no ill effects from the attack. If the defender fails their reaction task roll, the attacker may grapple the target or move them.

Grappling

Grappling involves using Telekinesis to hold or restrain another character.

If the defender fails their reaction task roll, the attacker may do one of the following during this round:

• Hold: Hold on to the defender and keep them restrained. A restrained character is not helpless, but they can’t use normal movement until they break the grapple. Attacking the grappled character is easier (attackers gain a +3 attack bonus when attacking the grappled character), and their attacks are easier to avoid (defenders gain a +3 defense bonus when the grappled character attacks them).
• Squeeze: Exert strength in an attempt to hurt the grappled character. The compression causes Endurance damage, and the damage rating (DR) of this attack is equal to the attacker’s rank in Telekinesis. Any power or equipment that provides protection from Endurance damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, reduces the amount of damage the target takes from the attack. The protection value (PV) of the protection power is subtracted from the damage rating of the Telekinesis. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s Endurance.
• Interpose: Use the grappled character as cover. By using the grappled character as a living shield, the character with Telekinesis gains a +3 defense bonus.

Moving

Telekinesis may be used to move an object or character a distance through the air.

If the defender fails their reaction task roll, the attacker may move the defender. The distance an attacker may move the defender is based on the Telekinesis of the attacker and the mass of the defender. First, look up the mass of the defender or object to be moved in the “Lifts” column of the Benchmarks table (rounding to the nearest weight value), and find the corresponding rank for that weight. Subtract that rank from the Telekinesis of the attacker, and look up that result in the Benchmarks table. Find the corresponding distance in the “Throws” column for the resulting rank. This is how far the attacker could move an object of that weight in one round. This rank is also the damage rating (DR) of the impact if the attacker makes the defender hit a solid object such as a wall or the ground.

Example:

Darkmind has Telekinesis 7, and wants to move Stone, who has failed his reaction task roll to break out of the grab. Stone weighs 800 pounds, which would be rank 4 in the “Lifts” column in the Benchmarks table. Subtracting 4 from Darkmind’s rank 7 Telekinesis, we find that Darkmind can move Stone 25 feet per round.

Darkmind uses Telekinesis to slam Stone into an armored car. The impact has a damage rating of 3, which is the rank of 25 feet in the “Throws” column in the Benchmarks table. After subtracting Stone’s rank 7 Invulnerability, the attack does no damage to Stone at all. The armored car is rocked on its wheels a bit, but suffers no real damage from having Stone slammed into it.

Particularly soft or yielding surfaces can reduce the impact damage by as much as half.

More from Bulletproof Blues: Alternate Forms. This power could be used by characters like Ben 10, Maleficent from the 1959 adaptation of Sleeping Beauty, the Sleeper from the Wild Cards series of books, and of course Dial H for Hero.

Alternate Forms

Activation: Activated
Task roll: —
Target: Personal
Range: —
Cost: 1 character point per rank

A character with the Alternate Forms power has multiple independent identities, each with its own powers and appearance, and potentially even a different personality for each (if the player wishes). The character can only use one alternate form at a time, and changing forms requires activating the power with a free action (although the character can only activate one form per round). The number of alternate forms the character has is equal to the rank of the power. The cost for all forms is paid by the base character; the alternate forms are created using the same number of character points as the base character (minus the cost of the Alternate Forms power), and they may not themselves have the Alternate Forms power.

Alternate Forms must be activated with a free action: if the character is staggered or goes unconscious, the power turns off, and the character reverts to their base form. The character may also turn off their Alternate Forms voluntarily, of course. A staggered character may attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) to keep their Alternate Forms activated while staggered.

The specific mechanism of the Alternate Forms can vary greatly from character to character, which may offer minor benefits and disadvantages to the character.

Defects

Dial R For Random: Normally, a character with Alternate Forms has a set of predefined forms and identities. With the Dial R For Random power defect, the knowledge and memories of the character are preserved, but their powers and appearance (and personality, if the player wishes) are that of a completely new person each time the power is activated. With the GM’s approval, even the character’s skills and advantages might be changed. A character with the Dial R For Random power defect must have at least 2 ranks in the Alternate Forms power. -1 character point