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“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” - John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States January 22nd, 1961 and President John F. Kennedy has just finished a visit to Westchester, New York. There, he met with Professor Charles Francis Xavier, son of noted nuclear scientist Brian Xavier. The visit by the President to the recently founded School for Gifted Youngsters wasn’t to speak with Xavier about his fathers role in the Manhattan project but rather a number of campaign promises. Xavier had been a contributor and supporter of the Kennedy campaign and the then president elect had spoken privately with the young professor about the ‘mutant issue.’ Reports of people with special abilities had existed since the 1940’s, sure. Folk like Steve Rogers were common knowledge, but more and more of these ‘meta humans’ seemed to be appearing. A girl that could move things with her mind. A boy that could fire energy from his eyes. A girl in Morocco that could control the weather. A man in New Orleans that could make any object explode if he threw it. A concentration camp survivor that could control magnetism. And Charles Xavier, the master of the mind. Kennedy never asked too many questions about Xavier’s roll in his election. He didn’t want to know just how far Xavier’s influence on how people voted had extended and, frankly, he didn’t care. He’d pledged tacit support of Xavier’s quiet, revolutionary manifesto and he was about as pro-mutant as it was possible to be, considering how many mutants were coming out of Red Russia and into America. Rumors of a Soviet plot to infect people with a mutation disease, communist sleeper cells, the Red Menace but with Superpowers were running rampant. There wasn’t any special rate of mutation in the USSR but there were a lot of mutants from Russia moving into Europe and America simply because they didn’t want to die in a Siberian camp. Khrushchev had given Russian mutants an option - Siberia or eviction once your belongings had been recycled to the state. "If you were a mutant and you were in Russia... you got out of Russia. The Communist manifesto that 'all men are equal' stops holding water when one of those men can move a tractor with his mind. So we, any many others left and we went to the United States. We thought things there would be better… or at least, that they would be safer." - Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin, AKA Colossus. Kennedy would help operate an underground railroad, ATLAS agent Jimmy Woo would be the point man between the government and Xavier’s little pet project. Not every mutant could get brought in, certainly, but Xavier always seemed to know which mutants needed help the most. Sometimes they were invited in. Sometimes they just showed up at the front door of that huge mansion in the middle of Westchester like they’d been following some flocking instinct in the back of their brain. Some of them are just let in with an understanding that this place will be their home for however long they need it - a halfway house full of lost teenaged souls unable to comprehend what’s happening to them and trapped in a world that’s unwilling to give them the time to work it out. There are some folks there that are a little older and a little wiser, a little more in tune with the nature of their abilities and what they mean. Those older teenagers are let in on a secret that’s going to change the world. “A new generation of mutants is emerging, that much is certain. They will be called freaks. Genetic monstrosities. [...] But they are emerging in the inner cities, in the suburbs, in the deserts and the jungles. And when they emerge, they will need teachers, people who can help them overcome their anger and show them how to use their strange gifts responsibly. They will need us.” - Charles Xavier, Founder of the X-Men They will be the X-Men. Recruiting for a Marvel Heroic game. Early 1960’s X-Men themed game. A sly mix of James Bond spy fiction, X-Men First Class and Parkland. Expect high level conspiracy, super-spy sleuthing, mutant mayhem and for retro-cool takes on modern characters. Speaking of Modern Characters, I’m okay with you picking pretty much any mutant listed in the Marvel Heroic books but I’m also looking for you to fudge with their backgrounds and milestones a bit - make them fit in with the world of the 1960s. If you want to play Wolverine, for example, then you’re fresh back from Vietnam where you did some serious poo poo but it’s okay because knowing you, you probably won’t remember it in a years time. If you wanted to play Colossus then know that you’ve got the shirt on your back and your sister with you when you arrive at the school after being turfed out by the Soviet government and rehoused by ATLAS. Misc. other doodads: There’s other Marvel flavored stuff in this game. Captain America was a thing, for example, but he’s dead/missing in the polar ice. Tony Stark is a 20-something industrialist that’s a hardcore weapons manufacturer and grade A shithead (think pre-Road to Damascus Tony). SHIELD exists but so does ATLAS, so expect there to be tension between government departments. They don't see eye to eye on a lot of things - think of them as the CIA and the FBI. One's more clandestine than the other but one has more manpower than the other. Charles Xavier is up, walking and kind of weird brained. How much impact did he have on the election? Just how powerful is he? He holds his cards close to the chest. The tech level is where it would be plus a little bit of wiggle room. Be careful about the time frame. The 60’s counter culture movement hadn't really kicked off by January 1962. Think Mad Men season 1 rather than Woodstock. In terms of technology, I recently binged my way through that X-Com Declassified game and some of the environments really evoke what I’m hunting for in terms of tech. In America, mutants are seen as being somehow tied to Communism. You thought it was hard bein' a mutant before everyone figured you for a red fink? The only good communist is a dead communist, son.  What should I be expecting from this? This game will probably have more of an episodic format than the stuff I usually run with the first 'episode' focusing on getting the band together, and getting people into a team and getting them thinking about the larger issues that they're gonna be dealing with. Talkin' at the school, meeting your contacts in ATLAS, SHIELD and a rescue mission. Let’s be having you, then. Updated: You can now use unofficial datafiles if there is not an official one for a character you wanna play. Post it an' we'll see where it goes. Sion fucked around with this message at 11:43 on Jul 19, 2014 |
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Jan 4, 2014 00:27
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 10:49 |
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Definitely down for this. Lots of ideas for potential choices, I'll take a closer look at all the mutant-folk and come back with somebody later this evening when I get home.
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Jan 4, 2014 01:02
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I will spend tonight getting outrageously drunk and playing games and return with some semblance of a plan, just like Don Draper.
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Jan 4, 2014 02:21
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Halloween Jack posted:I will spend tonight getting outrageously drunk and playing games and return with some semblance of a plan, just like Don Draper. Atta boy.
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Jan 4, 2014 02:23
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Are you hoping to cleave closer to actual X-characters from that era, or should we go hog wild? I'd rather aim for something closer to what you're thinking of in the first place than to try to sell you on Mr. Sinister as a nemesis of Austin Powers. Also, is Fantomex cheating?
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Jan 4, 2014 02:34
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Halloween Jack posted:Are you hoping to cleave closer to actual X-characters from that era, or should we go hog wild? I'd rather aim for something closer to what you're thinking of in the first place than to try to sell you on Mr. Sinister as a nemesis of Austin Powers. Fantomex might be cheating. While I'm not married to the idea of X-characters from the era, I have a feeling that cludging Cyclops into working in the 60's would be easier than cludging, say, Cable. Don't submit Cable.
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Jan 4, 2014 02:48
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Then what about...Reverse Raccoon Man?
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Jan 4, 2014 02:56
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I'd be down for this, I'll try to work on a concept later tonight or tomorrow. I will be seeing it as a challenge to use someone who makes sense but wouldn't be expected. I have some thoughts but we'll see what I can come up with. I would see the original X-Men as cheating, since they were already contemporary to this period at one point in the books. Though I'm totally understanding the No-Cable rule. I should think it would make sense to avoid characters who have direct ties to other characters built into their origins like Cable or Rachel Summers.
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Jan 4, 2014 02:56
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Halloween Jack posted:Then what about...Reverse Raccoon Man? Weapon X may be a thing as the game progresses. Wolverine sure, Fantomex no. 
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Jan 4, 2014 02:58
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This whole thing seems a bit out of my weight class knowledge-wise, so I wish you all luck, and I'm gonna have a blast reading this thing!
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Jan 4, 2014 07:43
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Error 404 posted:This whole thing seems a bit out of my weight class knowledge-wise, so I wish you all luck, and I'm gonna have a blast reading this thing! Your knowledge of X-Men or your knowledge of late 50s-early 60s history? (Also, I'm definitely going to write something up for this. You know, eventually.)
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Jan 4, 2014 08:22
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Error 404 posted:This whole thing seems a bit out of my weight class knowledge-wise, so I wish you all luck, and I'm gonna have a blast reading this thing! Don't be intimidated. Like, part of the reason that this is the first time the X-men have really been a thing is because we can have people being confused by what's going on and not knowing which way is up. If you have questions, ask!
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Jan 4, 2014 11:57
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 It isn't that Monet St. Croix is somehow unused to turbulence. Despite being the eldest daughter of the Monacan diplomat Carter St. Croix, she had dealt with it at home for a long time. Being female made you a second class citizen for a very long time. Of course, being raised Muslim in a nation that overwhelmingly identified itself as Roman Catholic didn't help matters. And then, her mother dying suddenly and to top it all off, her mutation coming to the fore... the St. Croix home had become something of a powder-keg. But those rumors, about how mutants were all Soviet spies. And the media watchdogs using that to discredit public figures with mutant children, was enough to shake even Carter. Thankfully her younger sisters hadn't shown any sign of mutation. But her brother Marius had already been kicked out after his mutation became prevalent, and Monet wouldn't have any of that. So she took it upon herself to head to America - though that wasn't exactly the most inviting place anyway, but it did have other advantages. Anonymity, freedom of expression (in theory - she had seen the news, and she'd be a visible minority there), and most of all, the chance to soapbox. Because Monet wasn't about to take all this lying down, oh no. She wanted to speak out on matters. And part of that meant finding others like her. So having heard about a supposedly telepathic man in Westchester (hey, being the daughter of a diplomat during a contentious era - some information comes to you), she headed that way to see what she could see. quote:M LifeGetsWorser fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Jan 7, 2014 |
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Jan 4, 2014 13:04
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Monet is great and a wonderful idea. Good job.
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Jan 4, 2014 15:20
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I'm looking at doing something with Pete Wisdom. Will try and post info up tonight.
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Jan 4, 2014 15:41
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Are we limited to actual factual printed by Margaret Weis characters or can we find some fan made playbook if it's not ridiculously broken? (Or Adam X (I may be trying to app Adam X))
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Jan 4, 2014 15:57
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Sion posted:Monet is great and a wonderful idea. Good job. Yeah I thought she'd be a potentially interesting character back in the sixties. I had settled on either that or a beatnik Tabitha Smith, but I'm playing a relatively jokey Thor in the Annihilation thread so I figured a more serious character here.
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Jan 4, 2014 16:00
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Mr. Maltose posted:Are we limited to actual factual printed by Margaret Weis characters or can we find some fan made playbook if it's not ridiculously broken? (Or Adam X (I may be trying to app Adam X)) Yeah I'm gonna have to say that M Weis only here 
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Jan 4, 2014 16:12
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I will think about this.
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Jan 4, 2014 16:22
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Sion posted:Yeah I'm gonna have to say that M Weis only here Awww...no Pete then. I'll think about what to submit instead.
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Jan 4, 2014 17:13
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Lager posted:Awww...no Pete then. I'll think about what to submit instead. I love the idea that that submission was just gonna be your instinctive, autopilot reaction and now you have to think
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Jan 4, 2014 17:22
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To be fair, it's a mark of distinction to have Peter Wisdom as your kneejerk app.
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Jan 4, 2014 17:25
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Sion posted:I love the idea that that submission was just gonna be your instinctive, autopilot reaction and now you have to think It basically was. Pete Wisdom in the 60s just sounded so fun!
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Jan 4, 2014 17:25
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Edit: Here we go Molly Hayes (No codename yet) (Molly has been aged up a few years, now she's 15 instead of 12) History It's tough being different, but you get used to it. You develop an instinct for it. When to cross the street, when to avert your eyes, when to stay out of sight. It's not always obvious, but it's always in your face. That's what Mama and Daddy tell me. They say I have to be extra special careful these days, not just being a negro, and a girl, but having the powers I have as well. I can't tell nobody about what I can do, not even my best friend Sadie! But things have been getting real heated in Harlem the last few years. Lots of men yelling, holding signs, and people striking. They say we need better schools, better houses, better jobs. They say things have got to change, it sounds nice 'til you ask them "what about these mutants?" and you see the look. You know, THE LOOK, it's the look you see on white folk's faces when they see you outside a "black" neighborhood, lot's of folks here gots religion, Sadie's mama, she says mutants are 'abomination' and 'children of the devil' she'll holler for awhile abouts them...us...me. When I get bigger though, I'm gonna change all that. Mama and Daddy say they're gonna change all that. They're gonna make the world better for negroes and mutants, but they need to make sure I'm safe. So they leave me in a big creepy old school full of white folks way upstate, they say these are my "people". I don't like this, and I miss my folks, I miss my home... Edit: I got bored and made a new Molly pic  pre:Molly Hayes (Official Young Avengers/Runaways book pg YR98) AFFILIATIONS Solo d6, Buddy d10, Team d8 DISTINCTIONS Adolescent Bruiser Adorably Annoying Princess Powerful! TEENAGE MUTANT POWERHOUSE Superhuman Durability D10 Superhuman Strength D10 SFX: Molly Smash! Spend 1PP to step up and double Superhuman Strength for one action. Then step back Superhuman Strength. Recover during a Transition Scene or with an Opportunity. SFX: Versatile. Split a TEENAGE MUTANT POWERHOUSE power into 2d8 or 3d6 Limit: Nap Time. Leave the current scene by falling asleep to gain 1PP. Wake up during the next Transition Scene. Limit: Mutant. When affected by mutant-specific complications or tech, earn 1PP. SPECIALTIES Psych Expert D8 Combat Expert D8 MILESTONES Punch first, Think later 1 XP when you either warn someone that you're going to punch them, or talk about other super heroes and villains you've punched in the past. 3 XP when you inflict physical stress on a foe by punching them through something else. 10XP when you either save the world by punching out a global level threat with a d12 in a Power Set, or use TEENAGE MUTANT POWERHOUSE to create an asset so an ally can take down said global level threat. I have a dream 1 XP when you discuss racial or mutant equality. 3 XP when you liberate someone who is enslaved or imprisoned. 10 XP when you dedicate your life to the Xavier Institute and the X-Men, or gather together a group and embark on a different path.  v
Error 404 fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Jul 16, 2014 |
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Jan 4, 2014 17:43
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Error 404 posted:On this subject, I have an official datafile I want to play, but is altering the character's history ok to better fit the setting? I've always been really squeamish about having kids in a game. Like, you'll get beaten up, have dudes with claws and knives and guns coming after you and, well, kids in that situation just makes me feel a little nausy. It is a personal preference thing but- I dunno :S
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Jan 4, 2014 18:42
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I think the significance of Malcolm X in this timeline cannot be understated...
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Jan 4, 2014 20:35
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I had a few ideas, but they either don't seem like they'd be era appropriate or I'm not really keen on how I'd have to RP (though Cannonball being a mutant might expand his horizons). So far I'm thinking of either Iceman, Cannonball or (brace yourselves) Deadpool (yes, I know he's not a mutant). To explain the last one, I'd do my best not to be too distracting or "hey I'm in a forum game", but a bit of a nod at his not being a mutant. Secret shame: I did a script treatment for a now-defunct project trying to create a Deadpool webseries, so I HAVE had to write for the character before. I'll think of something, and if Deadpool is vetoed I've got at least two other mutants I'd be willing to play.
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Jan 4, 2014 21:29
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Classtoise posted:I had a few ideas, but they either don't seem like they'd be era appropriate or I'm not really keen on how I'd have to RP (though Cannonball being a mutant might expand his horizons). I really like Deadpool as an idea but it'd be hard to pull off. If you think you're good for it, go for it. He works best when he's not being totally off the wall and when his writers tend to respect the history of the character rather than disregard everything about it for yucks. I say give it a shot.
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Jan 4, 2014 23:34
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Sion posted:I really like Deadpool as an idea but it'd be hard to pull off. If you think you're good for it, go for it. He works best when he's not being totally off the wall and when his writers tend to respect the history of the character rather than disregard everything about it for yucks. I say give it a shot. Oh, I totally agree. I much prefered the Cable and Deadpool/Joe Kelly/Fabien Nicieza (sp?) version of Deadpool, where he's a bit of a goofball, but he's not just spouting non-sequitors. I'll post something up tonight after work!
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Jan 4, 2014 23:50
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 Kurt Wagner was born in 1941 in Bavaria, not far from the Obersalzberg - the location of the Berghof, a favorite residence of Hitler. Found by a group of Roma hiding from the Nazis, he was smuggled by a Roma fortune teller named Margali Szardos into Munich where he spent the first few years of his life hiding with Margali and her children in the basement of a German Catholic family who deeply disagreed with the Nazi agenda and sought to make up for the church's initial consent of their rule. Kurt's earliest memories involved the Catholic family caring for him with Margali. After the war, Nightcrawler left with the other Roma who toured as a traveling circus throughout Bavaria and other parts of West Germany, occasionally making their way into Switzerland and other areas. Nightcrawler grew up fairly happily with the circus folk who never seemed to care one bit about his appearance. Kurt had survived the horrors of World War II without retaining many memories or much understanding of the events. He became the star acrobat of the circus, and acquired many other skills working on the engines of the circus's vehicles and learning basic medical treatments. In the circus, it was important to know how to take care of each other since you weren't likely to find much help outside your own. After Kurt turned 19, the circus was bought by a wealthy American who wanted to bring the biggest acts to his business in Florida. Nightcrawler looked forward to the opportunity until he discovered the businessman wanted to put him in the freakshow, refusing to allow him to continue on as the star acrobat. Needless to say, Kurt was displeased. He happily took the flight to America, but immediately teleported away when the plane landed, rather than joining the freakshow. Kurt felt like he already knew all about America from his love of the movies, and knew exactly where we wanted to go first - New York City. It didn't hurt that there were rumors of a safe haven for mutants nearby. The first thing he learned upon coming to America was how to disguise his appearance, go out only at night, and avoid being seen. Perhaps if he could find this Xavier's school he wouldn't need to hide anymore... quote:
Largely took the datafile from the Civil War: X-Men book, but I changed one of the milestones around some and also removed the Tech Expert specialty since Kurt hasn't really had any exposure to advanced technology at this point. The other specialties I felt like I could justify growing up with a somewhat nomadic lifestyle and fending for oneself, though. Especially with a sorceress for a foster mother. Lager fucked around with this message at 07:14 on Jan 5, 2014 |
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Jan 5, 2014 00:56
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Hey so there has been a bit of a miscommunication! I am fine with people basically retooling characters to make them fit - So if you wanted to play Cable you could but he would need to ditch the time travel and the biological relation to Scott Summers. Then again, the idea of hyper competent WW2 general turned mutant that's developed telepathy and telekinetics is fine by me, for example.
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Jan 5, 2014 19:24
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Thinking about either Iceman or Beast; the former would be just out of his Abominable Snowman phase, and the latter would be working on his second doctorate and getting used to being blue and furry.
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Jan 5, 2014 23:10
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Yo when is Nightcrawler out?
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Jan 6, 2014 00:48
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Sion posted:Yo when is Nightcrawler out? Two posts up? Or was that a joke regarding Kurt and Beast's blue fuzzy solidarity?
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Jan 6, 2014 00:54
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Lager posted:Two posts up? Or was that a joke regarding Kurt and Beast's blue fuzzy solidarity? It was the wrong thread, is what it was. I was aiming for the marvel heroes thread over in games. It's a diablo clone that's better than diablo 3 ever was/could be. Come play. Sorry, my bad. No, I really am paying attention, I promise.
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Jan 6, 2014 01:00
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Sion posted:It was the wrong thread, is what it was. I was aiming for the marvel heroes thread over in games. It's a diablo clone that's better than diablo 3 ever was/could be. Come play. Sorry, my bad. Gotcha. I did try that game out but the character drop rate was super low and I couldn't justify buying all the characters I wanted when I barely had time to play it more than once a week or so, so I drifted away. Not to get off topic, but has the drop rate been upped at all?
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Jan 6, 2014 01:07
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Lager posted:Gotcha. I did try that game out but the character drop rate was super low and I couldn't justify buying all the characters I wanted when I barely had time to play it more than once a week or so, so I drifted away. Not to get off topic, but has the drop rate been upped at all? No, it's been lowered but everything else has been entirely changed! You now get drops called Eternity Splinters and they, every 175 splinters, give you enough tokens for a random box that contains a random hero. I now have half the heros in the game and I've spent money on... one of them. You are guaranteed to get one splinter every 8 minutes but most people will get them a lot faster - the 8 minutes thing is there to help people that are just really unlucky with drops from mobs. You get them from enemies. Sometimes they come in packs of ten. They do gifts of 5 of them for logging in over christmas too which I think they're keeping going. Basically, if you played it before back in Beta, it is now a totally different and totally rad as gently caress game. Captain Foo just started a TG goon supergroup in it called ACTIVATED GURPS GENE.
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Jan 6, 2014 01:14
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Oh hey TG has its own supergroup? Sweet action! Currently working on milestones for a Sabretooth that's tired of wet work in SE Asia and murder in general after 2 major wars and many more "police actions"
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Jan 6, 2014 01:22
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Mr. Maltose posted:Oh hey TG has its own supergroup? Sweet action! Man go post in the thread in Games and we will hook up and be bros.
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Jan 6, 2014 02:05
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Noriko Ashida’s life has taken a bad turn lately. Not that her life was that great in the first place; war orphans aren’t known for high standards of living. Hell, most people her age would be grateful for the amount of support she’s gotten these past few months. But most people didn’t black out a quarter of Tokyo. Most people didn’t spend the last five months locked in a hospital room for everyone’s safety. Most people don’t have to take half a pharmacy just to think at the same speed as a normal person. But there is still one last bright spot in all of this for Noriko. You see, two Americans came to her room yesterday. They told her that there was a place for people like her back in the US. That they could offer her more help controlling her powers than a bottle of pills ever could. They already filled out the paperwork. All she had to do was sign and she could be on the next boat to the US. They didn’t have to ask twice. quote:Surge So yeah, decided to go for that Angsty Teen Who Considers Their Powers A Curse niche. Still, even though I'm happy with my app, I got a few things for sion to keep in mind when choosing apps:
Lurks With Wolves fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Jan 7, 2014 |
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Jan 6, 2014 22:05
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