They say that whenever you get an idea, you should write it down so you don’t forget it. So I thought, “Why not make a thread where everyone can write down their ideas?” That way people can get feedback on them, offer some advice, and maybe we’ll end up with some neat stuff. So here’s some ideas I had recently for CAH series.


Title: The Princess Bride

Premise: Westley and Buttercup have had their “happily ever after”, but what about the rest of the world? Heroes like Inigo Montoya and Fezzik are searching for new adventures, and Prince Humperdinck is still around causing trouble. The players are heroes from Guilder, the kingdom across the sea from Florin, ready to thwart Humperdinck and live their own fairy tale.

Tone: Like the movie, the series is meant to celebrate fairy tales as well as satirize them. Fairy-tale standards like dragons, kings, and wizards should have some odd twist to them. How about a dragon-slayer that’s afraid of tiny spiders? Or a four foot tall giant(well, his parents were both giants)? Or a swashbuckling Cyclops named Cyrano who duels anyone who makes fun of his eye?

Episodes: The first four episodes(released as the movie “The Princess Bride: After Happily Ever After”) make up the story arc called “Sink the Humperdinck!”. The Guilderian heroes are accused of being spies and thrown into Humperdinck’s escape-proof prison. They must escape, steal the plans to Florin’s new warship, reach the open sea, contact the Dread Pirate Roberts(really Inigo Montoya), and take part in a massive sea battle between Roberts’ fleet and the seemingly unstoppable S.S. Humperdinck!


Title: Fallen Stars

Premise: In a dark future, aliens have conquered our galaxy. From his secret lair, human scientist Dr. Prometheus has hatched a daring scheme. He uses a time-travel device to snatch exceptional people from the past to fight against the alien overlords, people who supposedly died young or mysteriously and will not be missed from the timestream. These heroes from the distant past will spur mankind to fight back against their oppressors! They are…the Fallen Stars!

Tone: While the show is predominately dark, there is always an element of ludicrousness in any show where Bruce Lee, Buddy Holly, and Marilyn Monroe can team up to liberate a prison colony. Think of it as a cross between “Babylon 5” and “Mission:Impossible” starring famous dead people.

Derek Devlin

As a big fan of the 7th Sea RPG from Alderac Entertainment Group, I thought of this...

Title: 7th Millenium

Premise: In the far future, the Thean Federation send their young fighters to the Ring of Steel, an arena where duelists compete in tournament for glory and honor. The combatants duel with holographic weapons, attempting to score points on their opponents(the deluxe action figures would have battery-operated "scoring" sounds). The holographic weapons can also be set to stun, but not kill. In and out of the Ring, adventure abounds in...the 7th Millenium!

Tone: Swashbuckling space opera with good and evil clearly defined and lots of messages about discipline, friendship, and fair play. Characters will be fairly sterotypical, like The Honorable Prince, The Feisty Swordswoman, The Womanizing Rogue, The Grizzled Arena Veteran, and The Comic Relief. Think Masters of the Universe meets Revolutionary Girl Utena(but without Utena's surreal lesbian undertones).

Episodes:

1. "The Ring Has No Beginning" - introduces the premise and the characters in a minor tournament.

2. "Anything To Win" - The Prince befriends a fighter named Lasparri who practices the Ambrogia style, a style many fighters consider dishonorable. The Prince finds he has much in common with Lasparri, but can he afford to keep a friend who will do anything to win?

3. "Ulnar the Unstoppable" - The Comic Relief discovers he is slotted to face Ulnar the Unstoppable in a tournament. After trying various comic ways to get out of it, he decides to face the music and fight Ulnar. The Comic Relief loses, but fights so bravely that Ulnar is impressed and befriends him.

4. "What is Courage?" - The Rogue is competing for a girl's affections with Sangria, a duelist who belongs to a group that stages secret fights with real weapons. Will the Rogue refuse Sangria's challenge, losing the girl and tarnishing his honor, or accept and risk deadly consequences?

5. "Swordsman's Serenade" - The Swordswoman must face an opponent who has never been beaten in the Ring. By studying his moves and doing research she figures out he uses the Aldana style, where the duelist moves in time to a piece of music in his head. During the duel she figures out when he is following the refrain, thus becoming predictable, and defeats him.

6. "Not Like Us" - Fighters from the Crescent Moon Empire come to the Ring for the first time. They speak a different language, practice strange styles, and the Comic Relief's attempt to be friendly is misinterpreted and starts a brawl. But when space pirates take the entire arena hostage, all the Duelists must join forces to save the day!

7. "Mystery of the Master's Circle" - Many years ago a master of Gallegos, the style of the Mysterious Circle, left his sword to his descendants, but only if they could figure out where it was. The heroes help a young duelist solve the riddles and recover the blade.

8. "Royal Welcome" - The Prince returns to his homeworld for a visit and learns that his mother is very ill. He decides to resign from the Ring in order to take care of her. It seems no one can change his mind, until his mother tells him that his victories in the Ring make her very proud. He returns to the Ring and wins the tournament in her honor.

9. "Double Trouble" - The Veteran is pitted against a fighter who has mastered two styles. The other heroes help the Veteran train for his match, which pays off in a hard-fought victory.

10. "Night of the Black Spiders" - The heroes go to the Crescent Moon Empire at the request of the duelists from "Not Like Us", and must match swords and wits with the mysterious Hashashin and an evil tyrant.

11. "Whispers" - When the Rogue starts seeing a mystery woman, rumors start that she's a witch and using magic to help the Rogue win his matches. The heroes track the source of the rumor to the Swordswoman, who started it out of jealousy. She apologizes to the Rogue and the mystery woman, who turns out to be tutoring him in history. The Swordswoman replaces her.

12. "The Ring Has No End" - A celebrity condemns the Ring of Steel for being "violent and elitist", leading to vandalism, protests, and even a riot. With sponsors leaving and ticket sales plummeting, is this the end of the Ring of Steel?

Derek Devlin

Derek Devlin wrote: They say that whenever you get an idea, you should write it down so you don’t forget it. So I thought, “Why not make a thread where everyone can write down their ideas?” That way people can get feedback on them, offer some advice, and maybe we’ll end up with some neat stuff. So here’s some ideas I had recently for CAH series.

My quick comment (since I'm borrowing someone else's computer ATM):

I've been kicking around running a Men In Black (a la the movie and cartoon series) in ATM. I'm wondering if I should make the Trait Max 4 with technology raising it possibly up to 4(5), and aliens having access to the full range of Trait numbers. Does that sound reasonable?

The Trait 4 limit sounds right, since I've always thought anything above that is in the realm of the superheroic anyway. The MiBs are often taking on creatures that have some edge over normal humans, using technology to compensate.

I still can't think of a decent title for my series about the former kid sidekick and his recently returned mentor. It's an idea I'd like to develop further, but I'm drawing a blank.

Still unsure if I should develop my "blaxploitation in space" series.

Derek Devlin

More half-baked ideas...

Title: Twilight 911

Premise: Open any phone book and you can find an ad for Mistress Twilight's Psychic Hotline. But not everyone calls wanting to know if money is in their future or if their girlfriend is cheating on them. Some have problems that only those experienced in the supernatural can help them with. Mistress Twilight then dispatches her best operatives to deal with the emergency, and bills the client at the end of the month.

Tone: Part Dark Brigade, part Real Ghostbusters. Equal parts action, horror, and dark comedy. Characters can be crusading clerics, professional monster hunters, rookie psychics, cops who "believe", private investigators who don't, or any other "normal person confronting the supernatural" that Mistress Twilight might call upon(or that stumbles on something while her operatives are dealing with it).


Title: Ace Chaser, Space Tracer

Premise: When folks jump bail, Ace Chaser gets on their trail! Intergalactic skip tracer Ace Chaser(voiced by Isaac Hayes) and his team of funky mercenaries track down bounties and dispense justice in the year 2172.

Tone: Funky space opera in a galaxy of big hats, big hair, and spaceships that look like cars from the 1970s. The players will make up Ace's support network, providing their skills in order to help him track down and apprehend bounties, protect the innocent, or make life difficult for some scummy crimelord.


Derek Devlin

Title: The Journey of Michael Kell

Premise: Michael Kell's alter ego, Gregor the Clever, is one of the most legendary avatars in the massively multiplayer online RPG Swords of Kemuria. But one day, while playing the game in the middle of a lightning storm, Michael and Gregor switch worlds! Now Gregor, who looks just like Michael, must cope with life in the early 21st century while Michael (who looks just like Gregor) must find a way back to the real world, all the while pursued by all the enemies Gregor has made over the course of play and more....

Tone: High Adventure with comedy thrown in. Gregor in the 21st century is a classic fish-out-of-water, trying to apply the skills of a medival adventurer to modern problems while not letting the world know he isn't really Michael. Michael, on the other hand, must pit 21st-century know-how against swords, sorcery, and deception in a "game" that has suddenly become all too real.

*********

Title: The Steel Family

Premise: The Armstrong family has a secret; Dad, Mom and their three teenage children are all superheroes! You see, the famous superhero Metaman's archnemesis was the supervillainess Crimson Queen -- until they fell in love, Crimson Queen reformed, and they became a team. Then came marriage, kids, a five-bedroom home in subrubia, and then, when they discovered the children all had superpowers -- well, there was only one thing to do, and that was to form a team. Now, in between sibling quarrels and arguments with the parents, the Armstrong family fights the supervillains that are attracted to their city like flies to honey.

Tone: Think Thermonuclear Family. A blend of family comedy with superhero adventure, with each member of the family displaying a unique power. They bicker constantly, get into all the trouble families get into, yet they work together as a team when the chips are down.

Title: Dogs of War

Premise: The Dog Star has been the site of an ongoing battle between rival factions of War Dogs. The heroic Mutt Soldiers, who want to bring peace to the Galaxy, find out that the evil Doberman Army has sent an invasion force to Earth led by the notorious General von Barque. Using ultra-tech weaponry, Earth is their new battleground as the Dobermans seek conquest and the Mutt Soldiers try to stop them from making Earth their prize....

Tone: Humorous military fiction. Nobody on Earth wants to believe that these invaders from the Dog Star really are a Sirius matter. 8^) TGhe Dobermans are a parody of all those bad WWII movie German officers -- except that they are fierce, dedicated warriors. The Mutt Soldiers are just regular joes doing a thankless job.

Some really cool ideas from Michael Hopcroft. I especially like Dogs of War, since anthropomorphic animal series have been a staple of Saturday morning for a long time. I tried coming up with one, but the best idea I came up with was ninja worms. Which should tell you how bad the other ideas were.

Anyway, here's an episode list for a season of Iron and Steele.

Title: Iron and Steele

Premise: Fifteen years ago, the masked vigilante known as The Iron Ghost and his sidekick Kid Iron kept the streets of Savage City safe. Then the Ghost disappeared, leaving his sidekick to be raised in a string of foster homes, eventually growing up into a 6’10” cynical P.I. named Biff Steele. Now after all this time Morgan Robeson, The Iron Ghost, has come back into Biff’s life muttering something about being in a Tibetan monastery and having a vision of a great evil that will threaten the city and the world. Biff doesn’t believe a word of it of course, but the old man is still a great detective and business has been kind of rough lately…

Tone: An action-comedy that skewers the clichés surrounding comic book superheroes. Some pathos from Biff, who has forgotten what it means to be a hero and hasn’t forgiven the Ghost for abandoning him, and from Morgan, who yearns for a past when he could beat up a roomful of thugs without getting winded and his sidekick wasn’t a foot taller than him. Players may take on the roles of Biff or Morgan, as well as characters from Biff's normal world(cops, reporters, former clients) or Morgan's superheroic one(old flames, retired villains, rookie heroes).

1. "Ghost from the Past: Part I"
Through a series of flashbacks, we learn about Biff Steele, the Iron Ghost, and the other regular characters. The episode ends with the Ghost appearing in Steele's office.

2. "Ghost from the Past: Part II"
Biff and his old mentor clash over past differences and present events, but in the end they team up to thwart a hostage-taking at city hall. Morgan becomes a partner in Steele Investigations and the partnership is reforged...on a probationary basis.

3. "A Tale of Two Kitties"
Tina and Tamara, the terrible Tiger Twins, have just gotten out of jail. Tina wants to settle down with the guy she corresponded with in prison, while Tamara wants to reunite the old gang and bring the city to its knees. Biff and Morgan are going to have front row seats for the catfight of the century!

4. "Clang Clang, You're Dead"
The insidious Mind in the Iron Mask assaults the city with an army of steam powered automatons. Forced to retreat, our heroes meet a reclusive inventor named Verne and team up for some giant robot combat with the Mind in the middle of the city!

5. "Diamonds, Clubs, and Broken Hearts"
When one of Biff's friends begins renovating an old nightclub, the gang uncover clues to the location of a fortune in diamonds stolen during the 1930s. But can Biff and Morgan beat the other fortune-hunters to the prize and prevent history from tragically repeating itself?

6. "The Problem with Brower"
Morgan encounters one of his old friends, a superhero who turned in his cape after accidentally killing a small-time hood named Gerry Brower. But then Morgan accidentally kills a man, who looks a lot like Gerry Brower! Biff discovers that over the years, several heroes have quit after accidentally killing someone who resembles Brower. Can he solve the mystery before the Ghost hangs up his cowl for good?(5 points if you know which classic cartoon episode this story is spoofing)

7. "Kiss Your Asp Goodbye"
A Bible-quoting madman is stalking the snake-themed superbeings of Savage City. Our heroes must stop the snake-hater before reformed supervillain Gold Adder marries his sweetheart Pythona, in front of all of their friends from the Secret Serpent Society!

8. "Violence is Golden"
Biff and Morgan go undercover to take down a sleazy Internet mogul who uses down-and-out superbeings as pit fighters and broadcasts the matches online. Do they have what it takes to survive in the Duodecahedron?

9. "The Accountant of Monty Cristos"
Biff and Morgan are hired to investigate a mysterious millionaire. When their client disappears, our heroes uncover a tale of betrayal, revenge, and a lost fortune, leading to a swashbuckling showdown at a restored French castle!

10. "The Ghost Breakers"
With Biff and the gang out of town, Morgan finds himself the target of four fledgling supervillains looking to establish a rep by "breaking the Ghost". Outnumbered and outmuscled, can the Ghost turn the tables on his adversaries?

11. "Once Upon a Time-Bomb"
When a distraught man threatens to blow up an office building, Biff stalls the child-like bomber by telling him a fairy tale starring some very familiar characters...

12. "A Prayer for the Flying"
Biff and Morgan are escorting a criminal back to Savage City after he jumped bail and decide to hire a plane, despite their charge's protests. Their prisoner panics in mid-flight and his psionic powers cause the plane to crash in the mountains. What was supposed to be easy money becomes a battle for survival as the elements, wild animals, and the crook's old cronies conspire to make sure they never reach civilization!

13. "When Darkness Calls: Part I"
The "Great Evil" that Morgan saw in his vision comes to Savage City, but has he been able to gather enough heroes to fight it? Especially since the Evil has claimed Biff, and pitted him against his mentor!

Derek Devlin

Hey,

Michael, "Dogs of War" is awesome. I'd play that in a shot.

Best,
Ron

I love "Dogs of War" (reminds me of a similar cartoon with motorcycle-riding cats, but I can't think of the name of it...)

"Iron and Steele" is very cool (even if the title isn't 100% appropriate - something like "Ghost Steele" maybe?), and seems like a blend between "Batman: The Animated Series" and "The Tick".

Eddy Fate wrote: I love "Dogs of War" (reminds me of a similar cartoon with motorcycle-riding cats, but I can't think of the name of it...)

Eddy Fate wrote: "Iron and Steele" is very cool (even if the title isn't 100% appropriate - something like "Ghost Steele" maybe?), and seems like a blend between "Batman: The Animated Series" and "The Tick".

Derek Devlin wrote: Are you thinking of "Biker Mice from Mars"? That's the only series that had bike-riding animals that I remember.

The title is something I've been stuck on for a while now. I even changed Biff's surname from Marlowe to Steele just so I could have two metals in the title. Having a catchy title that gives both main characters equal billing is something I think I'm going to need help on.

As a big fan of "Batman:TAS" and "The Tick", I'm honored to be compared to them. :) Morgan "The Iron Ghost" Robeson was based very much on Adam West(who played "The Grey Ghost" on an episode of Batman:TAS).

Mega Kats? The cats in MegaKat City, who did things like air-drop themselves and their bikes onto the heads of <insert random villain here>? They had all this rad blue and red gear.

four willows weeping wrote: Mega Kats? The cats in MegaKat City, who did things like air-drop themselves and their bikes onto the heads of <insert random villain here>? They had all this rad blue and red gear.

Gah. We both had half of it; I just Googled a little and found S.W.A.T. Kats.

Anyway, to throw an idea on the pile:
Title: Three Rings

Premise:
A travelling circus is secretly a group of vigilantes with weird Gypsyesque magical powers.

Tone: Think Gargoyles. Mixed dark action, drama, fantasy. Characters are members of the circus, and use their powers to protect the innocent as well as entertain. Among their deepest fears is being found out.

four willows weeping wrote: Gah. We both had half of it; I just Googled a little and found S.W.A.T. Kats.

S.W.A.T. Kats looks awesome. Too bad I never got to see it first-run.

Dogs of War is a great idea and I hope it's expanded on in this thread or as an article in ATM.

I like the circus idea, as it gives the characters a reason to work together and an excuse to travel. It might make for an interesting campaign in any RPG.

I have great memories of Gargoyles. Are there any cartoons on TV nowadays that have the same "dark fantasy" tone?

Derek Devlin

I'm glad to see this thread getting so much activity! I've seen a lot of fantastic ideas posted here. Anyway, to contribute a bit myself, here's one of the brand new series seeds you'll see in the CAH rulebook. Enjoy!


Dino-World
Created by Cynthia Celeste Miller

Tagline: "Prehistoric time, big adventure!"

Premise: The time travelling miscreant who calls himself Zelgar, came to the 20th century from ten thousand years in the future. And he brought an assortment of scalawags with him. His goal: to conquer the world in an era with technology far inferior to his own.

Unfortunately for Zelgar, his plot (and headquarters) was stumbled upon by a group of motorcycle daredevils who travel the country in a large van (with their cycles stored in a trailer latched to the back). To prevent the fiend from unleashing his fury upon the world, the stuntmen tried to use the time machine to send Zelgar and his henchmen back to their own time. But, things suddenly went awry and Zelgar, his goons, the daredevils and their vehicles all got sucked through time, back to the prehistoric age.

The evildoers quickly adapted to their new setting by locating a large amount of mean-spirited dinosaurs and injecting them with a serum that enabled them to evolve in a matter of seconds. These reptillian beasts gained human-level intelligence and were turned into humanoids.

But all did not go as planned. These Dinoids (as they called themselves) weren't about to serve mere humans, who they viewed as nothing but cave men. They broke free and started their own society, vowing to conquer the earth for themselves.

Meanwhile, the stuntmen made contact with a tribe of cave dwelling humans (who could inexplicably speak English. Broken English, but still...). They became staunch allies and the cave men agreed to help them fight against Zelgar and the Dinoids. Thus began a three-way conflict that would engulf this prehistoric age for a long time to come.

Specifics: The players should play the daredevils and/or the cave men. Either way, 75 to 100 CPs should suffice. But remember that each daredevil must have his own motor cycle, which must be purchased as per the normal rules for creating vehicles as SAs. Zelgar's minions should be created with 100 to 125 CPs. The Dinoids, on the other hand, should come off as being superior to them all. 200 to 250 CPs would do them justice.

Since we've got some Deadlands fans here...

Title: Ghost Riders

Premise: In the days of the Wild West, not every problem could be solved by a fast draw or a right cross. Sometimes you need a little holy water, or a silver bullet, or a steam-powered zombie flattener. That's when you call in the Ghost Riders, those ridin', ropin', shootin', fightin' experts on the occult and paranormal. We're ready to believe y'all!

Tone: "Ghostbusters" meets "The Magnificent Seven", with a dash of "The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne". Players are operatives for a special agency dedicated to dealing with paranormal threats through the use of wit, holy relics, and highly destructive steampunk technology. Whether it's Native American ghosts, Chinese hopping vampires, or a pack of immigrant werewolves, the Ghost Riders will solve the problem with a fistful of ingenuity and a crooked smile.

Derek Devlin

Episode listing for Season Two of "Iron & Steele":

1. "When Darkness Calls: Part II"
It's Morgan and his team of heroes versus the corrupted Biff and his team of villains as the fate of Savage City hangs in the balance!

2. "Interview with the Umpire"
Biff and Morgan are called in to investigate the disappearance of a baseball player from the locker room just before a big game. The only eyewitness is an umpire, but can the eyes of an umpire be trusted?

3. "How to Succeed in Blackmail Without Really Trying"
Biff's getting a lot of visitors lately. Some of them want to give him a lot of money. Others want to kill him. Can the gang figure out what's going on before Biff falls prey to another would-be assassin?

4. "The Past and the Curious"
A student doing a research paper on retired heroes from Savage City begins getting threatening messages. What's being covered up, and who wants it to stay that way?

5. "One Ring After Another"
Biff and Morgan head to Chinatown to keep the jade ring of the First Emperor out of the hands of a group of artifact smugglers.

6. "Software Pirates of the Caribbean"
The gang's vacation is interrupted by the high-tech heist of some experimental software. It's sand, surf, and subterfuge as our heroes search for the thief and his loot.

7. "Never Say Trevor Again"
An injured man claiming to be an MI6 agent named Oxnard Trevor ends up at Biff's office. He's promptly kidnapped by men in black who tell our heroes not to interfere or speak of this to anyone. Biff and Morgan risk it all to derail an insane plan for world domination!

8. "Wizardry Loves Company"
A long-dead Arabian sorceror is resurrected and seeks to claim a bride. It's 1001 Arabian fights as Biff and Morgan race the clock to defeat the villain before he marries one of their friends.

9. "Zen and the Art of Supervillain Maintenance"
A series of impossible robberies leads the gang to a ninja honor-bound to serve a demented cyborg mastermind. Can our heroes free the ninja from his vow before the cyborg is fully rebuilt and takes over the city?

10. "Requiem for a Heavy Date"
Biff agrees to go out on a blind date, but the woman disappears and he's blamed for it! Morgan and the gang must find the mystery woman before Biff goes to prison for kidnapping and murder.

11. "When the Bullet Hits the Throne"
The King of Bolitania insists that the Iron Ghost be his bodyguard during the monarch's stay in Savage City. Assassination attempts are made, but are they being made on the king...or the Ghost?

12. "Laid to Rest: Part I"
Morgan collapses while chasing the villainous Feminine Wyles. At the hospital, Biff and the gang reminisce about their past adventures. And then, the unthinkable happens.

13. "Laid to Rest: Part II"
Morgan Robeson is dead, and Feminine Wyles boasts of her victory. Can anyone stop her from taking over Savage City? Perhaps...the Iron Ghost???

A third season was planned under a new name, "The Iron Ghost Chronicles", and was to feature Biff as the Iron Ghost, one of the younger regulars as his sidekick, and have Morgan appear in flashbacks a la "Kung Fu". The season was never finished, but pieces of it may yet be made into a TV movie called "The Return of the Iron Ghost".

Derek Devlin

Title: Beans & Bacon

Background: The characters of Beans and Bacon first appeared in "Tales from the Liverpool Rat", a sci-fi anthology series about the denizens of a seedy bar somewhere out near Alpha Centauri. The space trucker duo became popular after the airing of the episodes "American Money" and "Let Loose the Dogs of Mars", where they took center stage. A series of their own was almost inevitable.

Premise: Luke Beans and Joey Bacon are two good ol' boys making their living as space truckers. They travel the universe delivering cargo and living a vagabond life. To make some cash on the side they offer their services as investigators, smugglers, and guns-for-hire. They've got only three rules: their fee isn't negotiable, they don't give refunds, and they have to be paid in American money(an antiquated currency still in use in certain backwater places).

Tone: Sci-fi action ranging from mysteries and crime capers to pulp adventure and fantasy. There's humor, but it's not meant to overwhelm the action and adventure.

Characters:
Luke Beans is the brains of the operation. He gave up a respectable job as a computer systems analyst to become a wildcat space trucker and he's never looked back. Luke is a capable con man, able to concoct disguises and tell bald-faced lies with ease. One of his most oft-quoted maxims is "There's nobody easier to fool than a con artist", something he enjoys proving but that has also come back to bite him a time or two.

Joey Bacon provides the team's muscle. He's a combat veteran who served in the Ventura Conflict and the Quadrant Wars, which gave him a severe distaste for high-ranking military types and bureaucrats. As big as a bear(and about as dangerous to wake up unexpectedly), Joey has a soft spot for kids and animals. He intends to settle down and raise horses on Mars when his trucking days are through.

Episodes:

1. "Gimme All Your Lovin'"
B&B are hired to track down a girl when her boyfriend suspects her of cheating. In fact, the boyfriend wants the girl found because she has a pouch of jewels they stole together and split without giving him his share.

2. "Sharp-Dressed Man"
The only clue to a hotel bombing three years ago is a security camera picture of a well-dressed man no one can identify. B&B agree to look into the closed case, eventually discovering that the Sharp-Dressed Man might not be a man at all!

3. "Rough Boy"
Joey goes undercover as a zero-g pro wrestler and falls for a rival's valet when B&B investigate a wrestling promoter suspected of hiring out his wrestlers as muscle for the mob.

4. "Tush"
Actress Tushy Galore has joined a cult operating out of a jungle world in the middle of nowhere. Her studio boss says it's all a publicity stunt, but her fiance isn't so sure. B&B have to steal her from the cult's clutches and thwart the leader's mad plan for control of the universe.

5. "My Head's in Mississippi"
An old friend of B&B's has died, and left them a cryptic list of last wishes. The boys race to rebuild their buddy from cloned pieces scattered throughout the universe, while the greedy relatives want to make sure none of them make it out alive!

6. "Pearl Necklace"
It's worth a quarter million, but who's got the pearls? There's no shortage of suspects when the necklace disappears during a swanky party, but B&B take a gamble in order to flush out the greedy and guilty party.

7. "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide"
Crimelord Vinnie DiTillio is running for the presidency of the Saturnian Republic...and winning! B&B are hired to derail Vinnie's campaign, but how do you sling mud at a guy who's admitted to every illegal thing he's ever done?

8. "Viva Las Vegas"
B&B hire on as bodyguards for a professional gambler hosting a gambling tournament on the casino planet Vegas IX. They soon discover that the death threats their client has been receiving aren't aimed just at him, but the entire planet!

9. "Doubleback"
B&B are caught in a timeloop while smuggling artifacts out of a restricted sector. What's causing the loop? How can they get out? Why is there never a timecop around when you need one?

10. "Gun Love"
The boys are hired to transport a gunrunner's daughter to her wedding, along with a dowry of black-market weapons. But the groom's jilted space pirate girlfriend has put a bounty on B&B's cargo, and every pirate, mercenary, and bounty hunter in the quadrant is gunning for them!

11. "Got Me Under Pressure"
B&B wake up after a week-long bender to discover that they're 200 grand in debt to crimelord Mama Shark. With no idea how they ended up with the debt and a desire to keep their fingers and kneecaps intact, B&B have a choice. Come up with the cash in less than a week, or somehow take down Mama Shark!

12. "Give It Up"
A sassy teen stows away on B&B's rig, and brings all kinds of trouble with her. She's the only one who knows where her father hid a fortune in rare antiquities, and some very bad people want that information.

13. "Cheap Sunglasses"
Desperate for cash, B&B take a job delivering a shipment of cheap sunglasses to a planet on the Outer Rim. A cryptic request for help scratched into a lens leads the boys to uncover a network of sweatshops, a kidnapping, and an assassination plot.

14. "Sleeping Bag"
After a hectic run, B&B take some R&R by camping out on a forest moon. Strange things start happening, leading the boys to realize they aren't alone and whatever's there doesn't want them to leave!

15. "Planet of Women"
B&B plan to make a fortune selling a shipment of prototype home appliances to Zamaron V, the Planet of Women. Instead they are forced into the role of planetary saviors, combatting a deadly virus that only men are immune to.

16. "La Grange"
B&B go to the desert planet of New Texas to collect a bill in the tiny town of La Grange, and are soon up to their necks in corrupt cops, beautiful women, and a feud between rival moonshiners.

17. "Tube Snake Boogie"
Surf's up on the water world of Costner XII, as B&B hit the waves to find out why so many wave-riders are disappearing. Is something out there preying on them, or someone?

18. "Legs"
Meet "Legs" Lorraine, a sexy kick-boxing con woman and Luke's old flame. "Legs" is on the run from the victim of a past swindle, and needs the boys' help to get out of the system. Luke suspects she isn't telling them everything, but can he leave his old love in the lurch?

Derek Devlin

Are all the Beans & Bacon episode titles also ZZ Top songs?

That's a cool way to lay out a series of episodes. I can imagine someone going through severeal seasons just with the catalog of titles from any number of bands. For Beans & Bacon, ZZ Top is highly appropriate: the band are good ol' boys who love cars.

Here's a challenge for you -- what kind of series would use B.B. King titles for their episodes? Maybe a fantasy series about a young bluesman who really did meet the Devil at the Crossroads -- discovered the glorious music he played was being used for evil purposes by a greedy promoter (who happens to be a demon), and now wants his soul back! But how do you track down the Devil himself, escpecially when Old Scratch is trying to make sure he gets to collect his prize?

Michael Hopcroft wrote: Are all the Beans & Bacon episode titles also ZZ Top songs? That's a cool way to lay out a series of episodes.

Yeah, I was down to #7 before I clued in.
I'm thinking some old Johnny Cash would work excellent for the second season :-)

Hmmm....but as a CAH game? I'm thinking Beans and Bacon is custom made for OctaNe.

Guilty as charged. :) I wanted to see if I could make a series out of the track listing from ZZ Top's Greatest Hits, and it turned out I could.

I was picturing the songs playing in the background during the episodes so I built the stories around them. For instance, "Rough Boy" has a slow-dance vibe so I made a romance element part of the story.

I like the B.B. King inspired series idea. A bluesman named Angel trying to recover his soul and help a few other "lost souls" along the way. While I'm familiar with King's music, I'm not really up to snuff on specific song titles. Any websites that could help?

I'm a big fan of octaNe and B&B would be right at home there, except that it says in the core book not to let your players go into space. But hey, who follows core rules anyway? ;)

Derek Devlin

Some friends and I have been kicking around running Dune recently, especially as we've been re-reading the series (which is much better in college with a few classes in philosophy and social psych under belt, than it was in high school ;). However, what system has been a sticking point.

Our generalized consensus had been a d20 variant, with slightly different base classes and what not. But no. Now, it must, in fact, be an 80s Action Toon. Because Dune is so righteously doable in such a format in hurts my eyes.

So, yeah. Dune will be animated sometime later 2003. :)

Drew Stevens wrote: So, yeah. Dune will be animated sometime later 2003. :)

Title: Planet of the Monsters

Premise: It's an oldie but a goodie. A team of astronauts on an experimental mission crash-land on an alternative Earth. It seems just like their world -- until they realize it is plagued by kaiju, giant monsters with the power to level cities. Worse, the kaiju appear to be intelligent and working under a plan. Can the vistitors from another world figure out the plan and counter it before this alternative Earth is depopulated?

Theme: Every Godzilla movie you ever saw plus a heavy dose of Planet of the Apes for good measure. Perhaps the astronauts have trouble communicating with the locals (nobody but them speaks English), further complicating their quest. The PCs would be faced with a major moral dilemma should a way home appear -- go home to their own world and abandon this new one, or stick around to fight the kaiju? Maybe not all kaiju are evil and a few might be befruendable allies.

And now, in a blatant act of self-promotion...

Title: The Amazing Adventures of Derek Devlin

Series Theme: The Stray Donkey Strut by djpretzel, which you can download here...

http://remix.overclocked.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR00792

Premise: During the 1930s, a cocky Hollywood stuntman discovers that he is the Chosen One, destined to serve the Forces of Light in a cosmic game played out once every 10,000 years. Pitted against his opposite number, a New England scholar chosen by the Forces of Darkness, Derek Devlin travels the world claiming artifacts and places of power for the side of good. Who will win in the ultimate battle of good and evil?

Tone: Somewhere between homage and outright parody of the pulp genre. Derek often gets in over his head due to his cockiness, but finds that bad guys in the movies and bad guys in real life often think along similar lines...

Cast:
Derek Devlin - While a competent stuntman, Derek gained a reputation as "The Stuntman Who Thinks He's A Star". Frustrated by Hollywood's refusal to take him seriously and tired of taking falls while others took the bows, Derek received a strange letter offering him a starring role in a picture set in Africa. He jumped at the chance and soon found himself in an ancient temple shooting his big scene, the recovery of an idol. Before long he found the traps were real, the idol was real, and the guns the "film crew" pulled on him were real. The intervention of the African sorceress Cassandra saved him that day, and Derek began his quest to thwart the Forces of Darkness. Something of a know-it-all and glory hound, Derek has the makings of a real hero, if he lives long enough to realize his potential.

Cassandra - A beautiful African sorceress, Cassandra has been groomed since childhood to be the assistant of the Chosen One in the Great Game. She just can't believe it's THIS clown. Truth be told, Cassandra had a very idealized version of what the Chosen One would be and had even fallen in love with her "ideal". Derek shattered her illusions pretty quickly, and she still hasn't come to terms with it. Cassandra is a skilled sorceress and scholar of the ancient and occult. She is very much the brains of the operation.

Whistler Singh - The son of an Indian warrior and an American artist, Whistler is a huge bruiser skilled in a variety of weapons and combat styles. Like his father, Whistler is a member of the Holy Defenders, a secret society of warriors devoted to the protection of holy men. It is his job to bodyguard the Chosen One, and since Derek insists on doing dangerous things, most of his time is spent pulling the Chosen One's fat out of the fire. Whistler is a cool customer and skilled African whistler.

Ward Curwen - The Chosen One of Darkness, Ward is an occult scholar and amateur alchemist. Condescending and melodramatic, Ward is a sucker for flattery and can never resist telling his foes how brilliant he is once he has them in his power. Ward is obsessed with winning the Great Game and beating his rival.

Moe Manchu - While Moe plays the part of the Insidious Oriental Mastermind, he's actually from Brooklyn, a fact that becomes obvious in his speech when he gets really angry. He loves to design deathtraps, but tends to make them over-elaborate, leaving loopholes for the victims to escape through. Moe is a master of several Oriental martial arts and has some skill as a hypnotist. He is often slapping around his incompetent henchmen, Larry and Curly.

Anna Conda - This South American mercenary is quick as a snake and just as deadly. Veteran of a dozen uprisings and petty wars, Anna is an expert in the use of firearms, heavy weapons, and explosives. She has a very short fuse and a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later. Anna's the kind of person who kills an annoying mosquito with a grenade launcher.

Great job, Derek. I'd watch that show every week.

I'm still looking for someone who has a B.B. King "greatest songs" album that can supply me with song titles for my bluesman show. Anyone know if such an album exists, how many tracks are on it, and where I can get a copy?

Here's something from Amazon. There's a track listing further down the page, with audio samples!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000ADG3/102-2153807-5931363?vi=glance

Derek Devlin

Thanks to Derek's pointing out that website, I have an episode guide for Blues Angel. Enjoy!

1. Every Day I Have the Blues

In this episode we meet Angel, a bluesman with a secret -- years ago he;d met the Devil at the Crossroads and was tricked into bartering his soul for brilliant prowess with the guitar. He's become rich and famous for his playing -- then one day he discovers an evil scheme by his promoter. When the promoter steals all his money in revenge, Angel realizes what a terrible bargain he has made and vows to recover his immortal soul, even if it means confronting the Devil himself!

2. Sweet Little Angel

Angel meets Queen Mary, a gospel singer with a secret of her own. Soon he discovers that a demon has marked her for assassination. But how can a man who has lost his soul confrfont a demon?

3. How Blue Can You Get?

A local blues legend in Alabama has been locked up by the local redneck sherriff. Angel soon discovers that the sherriff is a demon out to hold those who have been to the Crossroads until the Devil can collect his due. Angel determines to spring his fellow bluesman -- but will he lose his own chance to regain his soul in the process?

4. Paying the Cost to Be the Boss

Angel's promoter is back, this time with a scheme to put subliminal messages in Angel's back collection. This time the purity of the Blues is at stake, and Angel must strike back at the man (?) who has wronged him so heavily.

5. Don't Answer the Door

Queen Mary invites Angel to take refuge in her house while he is pursued by the Hunter, a demon who tracks down and claims lost souls. Can Mary show him how he can get his soul back before the Hunter arrives to claim them both?

6. Why I Sing the Blues

Angel runs into a young bluesman who has heard the legend of the Crossroads and seeks it out in hopes of gaining fame and fortune. Can Angel turn him away from the path to the Crossroads before the Devil can claim another victim?

7. Thrill Is Gone

An old flame has tracked down Angel and is determined to rekindle old sparks. Meanwhile, Queen Mary wanrs that a trap is being laid for Angel. But these two events can't possibly be connected -- can they?

8. I Like to Live the Love

A demon, disguised as a high school principal, is determined to abolish the music program at a high school in a poor neighborhood and shatter the dreams of a young fiddler. Can Angel save the program and expose the demon?

9. Hummingbird

The Hunter is back, determined to take Angel to Hell. Angel is given a unique guitar called Hummingbird. Is this the key to destorying the Hunter once and for all?

10. To Know You Is to Love You

Angel comes to the aid of Queen Mary when her church is threatened with forclosure by a demonic banker. But can the music the Devil game him really be used for good?

11. Chains and Things

The sherriff Angel foiled in Alabama tracks him down and prepares to extradite him to Alabama and the holding cell. There are enough guards to render escape seemingly impossible. Have Angel's wings finally been clipped?

12. Better Not Look Down

Somewhere in the South is the Hellgate, a place where demons make the transition between Hell and Earth and back. Angel discovers his unholy place and a host of demons waiting to drag him down to Hell. His only hope is to destroy the Hellgate itself....

13. Never Make a Move Too Soon

More determined than ever to regain his soul, Angel seeks out Queen Mary for her advice. Along the way, the Devil taunts him at every turn, trying to break his resolve and hitting at every weak sport he can find. But why is the weakest spot Queen Mary herself?

14. There Must Be a Better World Somewhere

Angel plucks an abused girl off a bridge, which she had been planning to jump off. Afraid to turn her in to the authorities, Angel determines to lead her to safety while trying to convince her that life is worth living in spite of everything she has endured. During this episode we flash back to Angel's own childhood and the father who made his childhood a living hell....

15. Playin' With My Friends

Many of the people Angel has helped in his quest to regain his soul converge on Queen Mary's house. When Angel himself arrives, a massive jam ensues. But the house is soon surrounded by corrupt, racist cops! Angel muist find a way to get everything else. In the process, Queen Mary tells him the most important secret of all -- how Angel can regain his soul.

16. When Love Comes to Town (Final episode)

Angel and Queen Mary return to the Crossroads. Soon the Devil shows up, expecting to recieve Angel's surrender. Instead, Angel and Queen Mary play a song so sweet and true that the Devil is moved to tears. Angel then declares that the Devil has no power over him, and that the msuic never came from the Devil at all, but from himself! The Devil flees screaming back to Hell. Soon after, Angels former promoter is arrested and his fortune is restored, with all the charges against him dropped. Angel proposes to Queen Mary and the two begin to tour together. The Blues has triumphed over the ultimate evil!

This thread continues to get more interesting all the time. Keep up the great work, gang! :)

Gee, that's nothing. I think this thread is utterly fascinating. My own contributions are miniscule and inferior by comparison to some of the other people's.

I'm really impressed by the episode list for Blues Angel, especially how you were able to come up with such a coherent story arc so quickly. My series are usually thrown together between turning points(like the 2-part episodes in I&S) or are a series of random adventures(like B&B).

Blues Angel almost seems too "grown up" for CAH. This doesn't strike me as a show where stuff is blowing up every ten minutes like most action cartoons. I'd see it more as a live-action TV series or maybe even Cowboy Bebop-style anime.

So, who's going to be next to base a series around a Greatest Hits CD? We've turned out some beauties so far.

Derek Devlin

Derek Devlin wrote: Blues Angel almost seems too "grown up" for CAH. This doesn't strike me as a show where stuff is blowing up every ten minutes like most action cartoons. I'd see it more as a live-action TV series or maybe even Cowboy Bebop-style anime.

Hi folks:

These episode listings are packed with cool ideas, and great fun to read, but I'm curious: do you actually plan your games this way? Isn't that awful scripted? What do you do if, say, Angel doesn't save Queen Mary (or worse, shows no interest in saving her) in episode 2?

Rob

Rob MacDougall wrote: These episode listings are packed with cool ideas, and great fun to read, but I'm curious: do you actually plan your games this way? Isn't that awful scripted? What do you do if, say, Angel doesn't save Queen Mary (or worse, shows no interest in saving her) in episode 2?

Rob MacDougall wrote: Hi folks:

These episode listings are packed with cool ideas, and great fun to read, but I'm curious: do you actually plan your games this way? Isn't that awful scripted?

Rob

Title: Not Quite an Angel

Premise: Jason Quentin was a small-time con man always hoping for the big score. Fleeing from the scene of his latest swindle with a suitcase full of money, he was killed in a car crash. Desperate to return to Earth and reclaim his suitcase, Jason gate-crashed the Pearly Gates and conned the heavenly bureaucracy into sending him back. Jason found out too late that you can't scam God. He's back on Earth all right, with an iron-clad contract making him one of God's angels. Stuck with his assignment, Jason makes the best of it by using his skills as a con man to trick people into turning their lives around and beat the Devil at his own game.

Tone: Touched by an Angel meets The Rockford Files. Each week, Jason encounters a situation that needs rectifying or a soul that needs salvation and does his best to deliver, bending a few rules in the process.

Cast:

Jason Quentin - A penny-ante grifter who finds himself playing for cosmic stakes, Jason finds himself enjoying the challenge of being pitted against the forces of the Universe's biggest con artist, Satan himself. Being on the side of the angels isn't as prestigious as he thought it would be, but it does have its perks. Jason's angelic powers include the ability to lie convincingly(though that may be strictly his own ability), the ability to summon props to help in his scams and disguises(subject to Heaven's bureaucracy, of course), the ability to shapeshift(3 times per mission), and the ability to cause minor coincidences.

Matthew - A former Angel, 2nd Class who got his wings as a result of one of Jason's successes. Matthew works in the archives of Heaven and usually ends up doing research for Jason that could get them both in trouble. Put-upon and more than a little gullible, Matthew always manages to come through with some vital info when it's needed.

Gabe - A career angel who happens to look and sound like Gabe Kaplan from "Welcome Back, Kotter". Gabe is Jason's supervisor and never lets him forget it. Hard-nosed and by-the-book, Gabe figures Jason should by rights be in Hell, and can't understand why God hasn't sent him there yet. He grudgingly accepts the Boss's decision, but is always watching for Jason to slip up. If that time comes, Gabe will put all his clout behind getting Jason shipped South.

Drake Campbell - A former small-time grifter and rival of Jason's, Drake was shot in the back by one of his accomplices and sent to Hell. He talked his way back to Earth and now gathers souls and causes trouble on behalf of Old Scratch. Jason and Drake could not be more opposite. While Jason gets no respect from his peers in Heaven, Drake is a respected operative in Hell. While Jason has to fight for every use of his angelic powers, Drake has carte blanche to use his demonic powers. He has all of Jason's abilities, plus one more, Free Legal Consultation(because as everyone knows, Hell has plenty of lawyers). Drake's big weakness is that he's ten times greedier than any mark he's ever conned. He'd never be happy to scam a thousand if there's the outside chance he could scam a million. He's been so successful because none of Heaven's operatives would stoop to exploiting that weakness. Now that Jason's on the team, all bets are off.

Gee, Derek, that looks great. I've always wanted to play a con man, but always have trouble doing so. This would be a great series for me to play in.

Mind you, I could have all sorts of fun with Gabe.

I enjoy playing con men too, but I'm not really clever enough to pull it off. So I always end up playing unsuccessful con men, which can also be fun. :)

Anyway, here's an episode list for "Amazing Adventures of Derek Devlin".

Series 1 - The Game Begins

Episode 1 - Altar of the Spider God
Stuntman Derek Devlin gets a job offer in Africa that quickly turns deadly. Traps, wild animals, a fabulous idol, and a beautiful sorceress complicate things for our hero.

Episode 2 - The Ten Thousand Year-Old Bet
The sorceress Cassandra explains the nature of The Game to Derek, who meets his new bodyguard Whistler Singh. Meanwhile, New England scholar Ward Curwen's occult dabblings summon dark forces that have an offer to make...

Episode 3 - Devlin vs. The Empire
Derek races a British expedition searching for the Golden Stool of the Asante. Our hero finds it first, but refuses to claim it for The Game, as it means too much to the people protecting it. In New York, Curwen takes tea with Moe Manchu and hires Anna Conda for a trip to South America.

Episode 4 - Fangs of the Jaguar
Deep in the jungles of South America lies the tomb of Shield Jaguar Lord, the Mayan priest-king. His sacrificial daggers, the Fangs of the Jaguar, are filled with occult power. This will be Derek's first test as the Chosen One, pitted against Curwen and his cronies!

Episode 5 - Reflections in a Dragon's Eye
The team follows Moe Manchu to China in order to prevent his possessing of the Dragon's Eye, a fabulous gem that shows its owner the future.

Episode 6 - Where the Conqueror Sleeps
Legend says that Attila the Hun's tomb lies at the bottom of the river Tizsa. Legend also says that Attila's sword bore the blessing of a war god. Will Derek find the sword first, or join Attila's bones in the murky depths?

Episode 7 - Uneasy Lies The Head
Vlad the Impaler, better known as Dracula, was found headless in a swamp following a battle centuries ago. Clues to the skull's location point to a mysterious monastery, where danger(and Curwen) awaits!

Episode 8 - Death and Circuses
The team goes to Rome in search of the breastplate of Boadicea, but Anna Conda and a few of her old friends have quite a reception planned for them!

Episode 9 - Brand of the Nightwalker
Team Devlin crosses paths with the sorceror Noctambule, "the Nightwalker", while in Paris searching for a missing man with a clue to a lost artefact. Is Noctambule trying to stop them, or help them? What are his plans, and whose side is he on?

Episode 10 - The Doom Down Below
Team Devlin retraces the path of the explorers in "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and become involved in a power struggle in an underground kingdom.

Episode 11 - The King's Cross Affair
A silver cross and two bodies supposedly that of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere disappeared from a British monastery centuries ago. When the cross turns up in New York, Teams Devlin and Curwen discover that the stars will soon be in alignment, opening a gateway to Arthur's resting place in Avalon!

Episode 12 - Countdown to Avalon
The two teams race to Stonehenge and enter the gate to Avalon. They undergo a series of trials to prove themselves worthy of the treasures of Camelot. Team Devlin makes it back with the Holy Grail, but the gate closes and traps the Greedy Curwen and his allies in Avalon!

Series 2 - The Keys to Immortality
Coming Soon!

Series 3 - The Game Ends
Coming Soon!

Things are pretty quiet on this board these days, what with everyone waiting with bated breath for the CAH hardcopy. So, here's some more bits of stuff for the Idea Pile.

Title: DreamMasters

Theme Song: "GoodnightLittleNemo" by Jazzflight, which you can download here:

http://remix.overclocked.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR00515

Premise: Four children stumble onto an old journal kept by the boy who was the inspiration for the comic strip "Little Nemo in Slumberland". The journal relates some of the fantastic adventures the boy had, and his battles with the Sleeping Wizard, a powerful sorceror placed under an enchanted sleep centuries ago. The Wizard and his minions seek to steal the essence of children's dreams and use it to undo the enchantment. The last entry in the journal was written when the boy had become a man, stating that he intended to enter the land of dreams for good and seek out brave children to help fight the Sleeping Wizard and his servants.

That night, Little Nemo visits each child in their dreams...

Tone: High fantasy for younger kids. Each child has a specific heroic "dream-form" that he takes on when in the land of dreams(superhero, barbarian, pirate, etc.). If there were action figures, the dream-form would be the figure but it would come with a smaller "real world" figure of the child. Each episode, the DreamMasters battle the Sleeping Wizard and his army of nightmares as they invade dreams and try to break free into the real world.

Title: Romance of the Three Galaxies

Premise: In the far future, the three galaxies of Shu, Wu, and Wei struggle against each other in a battle to unify all known space. Great battles are fought, great villainy revealed, great heroes fight with honour. This is their story...

Tone: Epic space opera. Anyone who has played the Dynasty Warriors games for the PS2 is familiar with these characters. You can read a translation of the novel this series is based on at www.threekingdoms.com and you've gotta love how each chapter comes with a guaranteed cliffhanger ending. :)

Some titles that don't have series yet:

The Misadventures of Cheez and Choklit
99 Ninjas and Me
The WitchSmeller Chronicles
21 Gunn Salute
Big Blue and the Brass Monkey

Derek Devlin

Great stuff, gang!

I've noticed the recent lack of activity here as well. Perhaps everyone is just waiting for the hardcopy (due out toward the end of March) to get a fresh batch of discussions going.

Cynthia Celeste Miller wrote: I've noticed the recent lack of activity here as well. Perhaps everyone is just waiting for the hardcopy (due out toward the end of March) to get a fresh batch of discussions going.

Well, maybe now that people are going to start picking it up activity will pick up again. I know I always love to see new posts to this topic, and I would certainly love to see a more diverse group (as is likely to be attracted by a print release) posting here with their series ideas.

Hello Michael.

I see it much the same way. It won't be long before I, too, will get my first real copy of the CAH book (and I live in Germany).
It will probably be a few weeks still before new people, really new people who did not know about the .PDF version or anything else before, are
going to start stopping by this website and forum, and feel confident and compelled enough to post their own ideas for discussion. This could still
be about half a year away, though.
Which kind of new crowd the game is about to attract and bring into the online discussion community that we're building I dare not say, yet.
I am as curious as anyone here right know.

I'm planning to post some of my earlier ideas all over again, as well as
ask my poll questions from the Spectrum Game Studios mailing-list again,
once the game has been out for a bit, and membership on the mailing list and this forum has increased a little. Not any sooner or later.

Norbert

The more I look at it seems that CAH would be perfect for my kooky supers game I have been wanting to run. I was planning to cobble together some Fudge and Marvel Super Heroes but I am thinking CAH is a good fit as is. I am having a hard enough time writing the world and background characters anyway. I really like the Super hero idea in the book!
Dave
P.S. Cartoon Action Theater RAWKS!...
:-)

Cynthia Celeste Miller wrote: The evildoers quickly adapted to their new setting by locating a large amount of mean-spirited dinosaurs and injecting them with a serum that enabled them to evolve in a matter of seconds. These reptillian beasts gained human-level intelligence and were turned into humanoids.

It's me again. I'm working on a ready-to-run series idea for ATM, but I don't have my book yet. In fact, I'll have to wait at least another three weeks before it gets here. So while the basic idea is pretty much done, I have no clue how to set up the PC guidelines in terms of CP amounts, vehicle costs, and stuff like that.

Since some of you nice folks out there have the book, please give this concept a read-over and tell me if you think the PC guidelines need tweaking. Thank you.

Derek Devlin


Title: The Great Airship Race

Tagline: “High-flying adventure in the wondrous Age of Steam!”

Premise: In the year 1895, eccentric millionaire Willard Midas made a statement at a party that airships were the next logical step in transportation, the vanguard of a glorious future. To prove it, he contacted Count Freidrich von Zeppelin and offered to bankroll his design for an airship that had been rejected by the German government. Within two years, the first airship was built, but critics said it was at best a toy. Midas spoke out against his critics, saying that he would award half a million pounds to the first airship to travel around the world just like Phileas Fogg did in “Around the World in 80 Days”. News of this challenge soon swept the nations, and within a year five teams had answered the call. In the spring of 1898, these intrepid adventurers set out from London to circle the globe. So begins a tale of action, intrigue, and wonder set in the incredible Age of Steam!

Cast:

Each team has a particular Strength, and should receive beneficial modifiers when performing actions that require that Strength. While it is assumed most players will want to be part of Team Steele, some possible player roles are listed for all of the teams(though all the players should be on the same one). Players can also take on the roles of team leaders, with the exception of Team Visionary. Each team has an Agenda that they will pursue during the race. All of the teams want to win the race, so that goal is not listed to avoid repeating the obvious.

Team Steele
Nathan Steele is an American adventurer who made his fortune after discovering a diamond mine in South Africa. He and his British wife Annabelle gathered their team from friends and colleagues they had already shared adventures with, and see the race as their last great adventure before settling down to raise a family. Their ship is the Steele Star, a red, white, and blue airship with a large silver sheriff’s star painted on each side of the bow(Nathan’s father was a lawman in the American West).
Strength: Courage
Possible Player Roles: Absent-minded Professor, Yankee Engineer, Great White Hunter
Agenda: Seek out adventures, help those in need

Team Moriarty
Professor Moriarty met his death in the Reichenbach Falls while fighting the famous detective Sherlock Holmes several years previously, but the beautiful Widow Moriarty has suddenly made her presence known. Her team is composed of members of her late husband’s old organization, and she is never without her hulking manservant Damascus. She has entered the race because by doing so, she knows Sherlock Holmes will use his mastery of disguises to join the race and investigate. Once she finds him, she will finally have her revenge. Her ship is the Black Widow, a sombrely coloured ship bearing the insignia of a black spider.
Strength: Cunning
Possible Player Roles: Con Artist, Second-storey Man, Roughneck
Agenda: Unmask Sherlock Holmes and avenge Professor Moriarty, commit baffling crimes and elude the law

Team Rajipal
Prince Rajipal of India was educated in Britain and became fascinated with technology. He has gathered a team of native experts from several colonies and built a fabulous ship to house his team and entourage. His intention is to win the race and best the British at their own game. He is an honourable foe, however, and intends to win fairly or not at all. His ship is the Palace of the Air, a huge ship that truly resembles an opulent Indian palace.
Strength: Wealth
Possible Player Roles: Indian Mystic, Zulu Warrior, Native Canadian Tracker
Agenda: Display abilities superior to any white man, maintain personal honour

Team Manchu
The world at large knows Dr. Mencius Manchu as a reclusive scientist and antiquarian. Few know that he is the head of a tong whose influence extends throughout the world. Manchu, his daughter, and his most trusted subordinates have entered the race because it provides a great cover for smuggling things from country to country. Manchu has reason to believe that someone has infiltrated his smuggling network and been stealing from him. He intends to closely examine his worldwide smuggling network en route and determine if this is true. His ship is the Mandate of Heaven, an exotic vessel coloured jade and gold incorporating images of dragons, tigers, and other magnificent creatures into its structure.
Strength: Knowledge
Possible Player Roles: Tong Martial Artist, Tomb Raider, Loyal Spy
Agenda: Acquire artefacts and smuggle them out of their countries, discover who is stealing from the Manchu Tong

Team Visionary
Professor Visionary is an esteemed academic in the field of physics and astronomy. He and his crew are engaging in the race for scientific reasons. Or so they claim. Visionary and his crew are actually Martians, using the race as a cover to scout the Earth as preparation for an invasion. It is they who are stealing from the Manchu Tong, and they who killed Professor Moriarty(they were trying to kill both him and Holmes, but missed the detective). Their ship is the All-Seeing Eye, a metallic vehicle that resembles a flying submarine bristling with mechanisms that could be weapons, scanners, or both.
Strength: Science
Possible Player Roles: Lab Assistant, Gunsmith, Well-Educated Manservant
Agenda: Gather intelligence for the upcoming invasion, keep the team’s plans and identity secret
Note: Player characters should NOT be privy to the true identities or agenda of Team Visionary, at least not at first. Once they do discover it, Team Visionary’s attempts to silence them should send the players screaming to the other teams, setting up the final story arc.

Player Characters:

Character Points: PCs receive 80 CPs with which to create their characters.
Guidelines: The PCs are normal people and thus don’t have innate SAs. The exceptions to this rule are Teams Rajipal and Manchu who have mystics amongst the crew, but even these are rare. PCs may have SAs that represent weapons, gear, armor, gadgets, or other equipment.
Traits: The maximum rating is 4 for PCs.
Required Traits: Every PC should have a “field of expertise” with at least a 3 in it.
Disallowed Traits: Computers(the Martians might have them, but the PCs certainly don’t)
New Traits: None
Maximum CPs for SAs: 30
Types of SAs Allowed: gadgets, vehicles, weapons, animal companions, magic
Other Guidelines: 5 CPs must go towards the team’s airship. NPC patrons and crew will cover the rest of the vehicle’s cost.

Miscellaneous Notes:
Each episode will revolve around either getting ahead in the race(taking a dangerous shortcut, souping up the ship, slowing down the other teams, etc.) or pursuing the team’s Agenda. Fulfilling the Agenda’s goals will usually involve stopping at some exotic port of call and adventuring on the ground. Player’s shouldn’t worry about these stops; all of the teams will be making them.
The teams will occasionally make alliances of convenience with one another, but these alliances will rarely last longer than a single episode, since only one team can win the race.
Where’s Sherlock? It’s up to the GM to determine which team he is on and who he is posing as.
The final story arc will reveal Team Visionary for what they are and cause the other four teams to join forces to thwart the Martian invasion.

Derek Devlin wrote: Player Characters:

Character Points: PCs receive 80 CPs with which to create their characters.
Guidelines: The PCs are normal people and thus don’t have innate SAs. The exceptions to this rule are Teams Rajipal and Manchu who have mystics amongst the crew, but even these are rare. PCs may have SAs that represent weapons, gear, armor, gadgets, or other equipment.
Traits: The maximum rating is 4 for PCs.
Required Traits: Every PC should have a “field of expertise” with at least a 3 in it.
Disallowed Traits: Computers (the Martians might have them, but the PCs certainly don’t)
New Traits: None
Maximum CPs for SAs: 30
Types of SAs Allowed: gadgets, vehicles, weapons, animal companions, magic
Other Guidelines: 5 CPs must go towards the team’s airship. NPC patrons and crew will cover the rest of the vehicle’s cost.

On a first perusal, I also have to tell you that I am all for this series.
Your idea, in short, *ROCKS!*
Very, very thorough concept, also. Thank you very much for sharing it with all of us here.

It immediately reminded me of the 1990-era animé, "Nadia of the Mysterious Seas" also known as "Blue Water", but possibly _better_ if it were produced, and more game-able. ;-)
Out of intuition, I'd say lessen the number of references to actual literary characters like Holmes and Jules Vernes' characters, etc., and you'll be more independent.

The character stats look perfect to me, as well.
And your ideas for getting all the PCs together on a team are even better than mine.

I really liked the Iconia world in the book and I wanted to have a Earth based supers game so I ripped off a Twilight Zone. On earth there lives a kid who religiously watches the Warriors of the Cosmos cartoon. His family life is not very pleasant and he has trouble relating to other kids so he sits in his room and fantasizes about a way to bring the warriors of Iconia to Earth to help him deal with the obstacles of his daily life. The PCs are surprised to be suddenly transported to this young man`s bedroom and Earth is a very alien world to them. Soon they discover that another young man has been making similar plans but Nekrottus sensed his anger and sadness and used that to bring him over to the side of evil. While on Earth the heroes will be fighting battles with Nekrottus as well as a host of Earth villains. The PCs will come to be known as superheroes on Earth and gain popularity with the citizens when they defeat evil.
Dave

Very, very good, indeed, Dave!

I have faint memories from around 1992 when, back in our old RPG group at the time, the GM brought all of our Middle-Earth Rolemaster characters to present-day Earth, where they befriended a teenage schoolgirl, caused the usual bedlam for a while, and fought some neo-nazi youths.

I think your idea about good and evil characters familiarizing themselves with Earth, and continuing in their usual roles (the heroes will be reasonably heroic, while the villains will still seek to dominate things and exploit, destroy, cheat people, in short: be villainous!) is one that could turn out to be great fun, given the right GM, and players who share your vision. I'd love to be part of your game, as a matter of fact.
I'd assume that all PCs are from the roster of Warriors of the Cosmos heroes, and the Earth humans, including the kids who helped bring the characters into their world, will be played by the GM. I know I would handle it that way because, it would mean a special commitment from one of the players to portray a 10-year-old kid from Earth alongside 100-point Warriors with Special Abilities.

Thanks!
I am thinking that I may allow Earthmen super heroes for PCs also but I am not sure. I do want to have a few other NPC superheroes and villains in the world who are from Earth.
Dave

Additional superheroes from Earth, you say?
Hm, not bad. But in the long run, I think this could turn your game into a version of Justice League of America/X-Men/Avengers...
Not that this is not also very enjoyable with the right sort of players, but I tried it years ago, and in general, my lesson was that off-world superheroes and indigenous superheroes don't mix that well. Players like to stick to one, or the other.

It would be a great premise for a series if you had all the heroes come from Iconia, unfamiliar with Earth customs, vehicles, politics, and so on. It gives the heroes a sense of identity, and a double purpose: Not only do they have to fight the servants of Nekrottus, but also the difficulties of living a normal life on Earth (with cars, airplanes, taxes, schools, and nosy reporters!).
Whatever works best for your group, you know. ;-)

When my CAH book arrived, the Deadlands books I ordered arrived with it. After all that reading, I came up with this NPC for "Outlaws of Skull Gulch".

Name: Nancy Longshadow
Tagline: “Massive and mysterious bounty hunter”
Series: Outlaws of Skull Gulch

Background:

Nancy Longshadow hasn’t been bounty hunting for long on New Texas, but already the mention of her name makes most outlaws look nervously over their shoulders. Rumor has it that Nancy’s a full-blooded Kiowa Indian, the sole survivor of a village wiped out by disease. The white doctor who found her took her back to the Eastern Quadrant with him and raised her as his own. Nobody knows why Nancy left the Eastern Quadrant to become a bounty hunter on the frontier, but most would agree she’s become quite good at it.

There are lots of things about Nancy folks don’t quite understand. No one’s ever seen her carry a gun, an energy knife, or even a cyber-lariat, yet she seems to have no trouble bringing in heavily armed bounties or overcoming superior odds. No one’s ever seen her on a cyber-horse(most suspect the cyber-horse hasn’t been built that can carry her), yet she travels very quickly for someone who walks everywhere. More than one bounty thought he had plenty of time to split town before she showed up, only to end up nursing a bruised jaw in a jail cell.

The one thing everybody can agree on is that she’s as strong as a bear and twice as mean. They still remember the time in Dust City when a cyborg gunslinger named Ring-0 drew down on her in a saloon. Before his cybernetic arm had pulled his gun from his holster, Nancy grabbed it by the wrist, ripped it clean off his shoulder, and cold-cocked him with it. Other stories claim she’s pinched shotgun barrels closed, punched out an enraged bull, and toppled a water tower onto an outlaw gang shooting up a town with an electro-gatling.

When this bounty hunter’s long shadow falls across a town’s streets, folks know someone’s going to jail real soon, whether they like it or not.

Personality:

The only thing Nancy seems to care about is money. Outlaws pleading with her not to be turned over to Plaxx’s goons will find their words falling on deaf ears. Of course, once she has her money, the outlaw is the law’s problem. If his buddies bust him out of jail, all the better for Nancy, who can get a bigger bounty for catching him again.

While she is an imposing figure, Nancy never hurts anyone who doesn’t deserve it and always brings her bounties in alive. If an innocent person is hurt during a bounty’s capture, Nancy will patch him up as best she can before riding off to get paid.

Despite her stone-face and seemingly selfish outlook, Nancy does have feelings. She’s simply put them aside while fulfilling her mission(see GM Notes).

Appearance:

Nancy is six foot six of solid muscle in a long black duster. She wears brown pants, dark brown boots, a white shirt, and red bandanna under that duster. She wears her long black hair in a ponytail decorated with an eagle feather. Her black wide-brimmed hat often hides the top half of her face in shadow, her two dark eyes staring out of the darkness. Nancy rarely displays any emotion on her face except for the occasional snarl when she’s really laying into someone, scowl when something(or someone) is bothering her, or small smile when she’s counting up her latest collection of mega-pesos.

GM Notes:

When she was sixteen, Nancy Harrison was visited by a Bear Spirit in a dream. “Our land is in pain and cries out to be healed,” the Spirit said. “You must heal it, Long Shadow.” Nancy left home not long after, leaving a brief note for her adoptive father, “Thank you for all you have done for me. I hope someday to be a healer like you.”

Nancy took on the name the Spirit called her by and drifted for several years, working odd jobs and sometimes as a bouncer or bank guard. She eventually learned that the Kiowa territory had been annexed by the Galactic Government and was now under the “protection” of Governor Plaxx. Plaxx was a black-hearted parasite, but black-hearted parasites could be bought. Nancy knew that if enough money was waved under his nose, Plaxx would hand over the rights to her ancestral land. The question was, how to get enough money?

The answer, of course, was bounty hunting. Nancy found that the secret to bounty hunting was to study your prey and find his weaknesses. Maybe he likes to drink, or has a gal he’s sweet on. Maybe he thinks he’s too fast, tough, or smart to ever get caught. And even the most cautious cowpoke has to take off his 360-degree vision goggles and sleep sometime. When his guard is down, bushwack him and take him in. Nancy’s tactics have allowed her to bring in bounties often without a single shot being fired.

Nancy does have a gun, though. It’s a collapsible silenced carbine that she keeps in a secret pocket in her duster. She’s used it mainly to catch her dinner and snipe guards so she can get close to her targets more easily.

Nancy has a horse too, a custom-made cyber-stallion named Shade. Shade is strong enough to carry his mistress, and also has a cloaking device installed that allows him, his rider, and any passengers to travel invisibly. Nobody knows about Shade because Nancy never brings him into town and any passengers besides Nancy usually aren’t conscious for the ride.

The stories of Nancy’s strength are not exaggerations. She is extremely strong, but also can call on her Guardian Spirit to boost her strength to superhuman levels temporarily. However, Spirits are fickle things, and do not always grant their favor. To honor the Bear Spirit, Nancy brings in all of her bounties alive(though usually a little bruised) and heals any innocents harmed during the capture. This works out very well for Nancy, since live bounties are always worth more than dead ones.

Once she’s bought back the land, Nancy intends to retire from bounty hunting and become a shaman, communing with the spirits of her ancestral home. She has a hideout in Kiowa territory, a secluded cave near a spring where she stores all her loot.

Story Hooks:
Always brings bounties in alive – Moderate
Vows to reclaim the Kiowa territory – Major
Has a hideout in Kiowa territory - Minor

Oomph: 3
Stunt Points: 2
Hurt Points: 43
Size: Medium

Traits: Armed Combat 1, Athletics 1, Body 4, Ranged Combat 0/4(Rifles), Stealth 2, Unarmed Combat 3, Disguise –1, Knowledge (Bounty Hunting) 3, Medical 2, Perception 3, Survival 2, Willpower 2, Persuasion 1/3 (Intimidation)

SA - Collapsible Silenced Carbine (OSA, Power Level: Medium)
DR: 7+2
Range: Long
Bonus: Minor Advantage(Silencer), Collapsible
Restriction: Moderate Charges, Item
Cost: 17 CPs

SA - Shade the Cyber-Stallion (Animal Companion, Power Level: Medium)
Traits: Athletics 3, Appearance 2, Body 4, Stealth 2, Perception 2
Oomph: 2
Stunt Points: 1
Hurt Points: 42
Primary Movement: Land
Size: Large
SA: Cyber Armor(Power Level: Low, Protection 4, Hardness 4)
SA: Cloaking Device(Power Level: High, Major Advantage-Invisibility, Usable on Self and Others)
Cost: 16 CP(60 SCP)

SA – Bear Spirit’s Favor (Power Level: Medium)
Trait Modification A: +2 Body
Duration: 1d12 minutes
Restriction: Fickle
Cost: 6 CP

Character Cost: 100 CP

Very cool! I really like the Outlaws of Skull Gulch series...

A Transbots idea I dreamed up while on vacation.

The Siege Masters

Archaeologists excavating a ruined keep in Wales discover something incredible. They find paintings on the walls of two iron giants clashing amidst huge armies, and beneath the keep are two robots buried beneath the rubble, robots which according to their calculations are several centuries old! How can this be?

Several years in the future, Maximillian Mercy will finally unlock the secret of time travel. He will create a portal to the past, intending to travel back in time with Vandal and conquer the world when there are no Transbots to stop him! Trevor Hasting and the Transbots will uncover the scheme and a huge battle will take place between the Transbots and Warbots. Mercy and Vandal will escape through the time portal, with Hasting and Lightblade in hot pursuit. The portal, unable to cope with the unexpected doubling of the time-travelling matter, will disrupt and dump Hasting and Mercy in separate sections of medieval England. Lightblade and Vandal will be almost completely destroyed by their transit through time.

Using salvaged parts and what little technology was available, Hasting and Mercy rebuilt their robots. Hasting built Valor, a trebuchet that transformed into a robot armed with a morning star and shield. Mercy built Blackguard, a battering ram that transformed into a robot wielding a two-handed warhammer. Both men and their robots were inevitably drawn towards one another, their exploits drawing armies to their sides.

The final battle took place in the shadow of a castle keep in Wales. As the two armies clashed on the field, the robots and their builders carried their fight to the catacombs beneath the keep. The battle raged fiercely until an errant strike collapsed the catacombs down upon the combatants. Unable to free themselves from the tons of rubble, the robots shut themselves down to await rescue by their masters. They didn’t know that Hasting and Mercy both perished in the cave-in.

Once news of the robots reaches the Transbots and Warbots, they converge on Wales and arrive just in time for Valor and Blackguard to reawaken and continue their fight. Everyone joins in and the ancient robots join up with their respective sides and vow to continue their fight. Thus do the newest soldiers in the war make their appearance---the Siege Masters!

Valor and Blackguard both resemble medieval knights in armor in their robot forms. Valor is silver with some white and Blackguard is black with some royal purple. They have the Transbot or Warbot symbol integrated into the coats of arms on their respective chests.

Valor is a cagey old warrior who often serves as an advisor to Lightblade in terms of tactics and understanding humans. Since Valor is an older and wiser version of Lightblade, he has more experience in such matters. Valor possesses great courage and honor, but his first concern is protecting others, not his own honor.

Blackguard is a brash and arrogant fighter who considers himself to be Vandal’s “heir apparent” and future leader of the Warbots. He schemes constantly to maintain his “number two” position and will use any tactic, no matter how cruel or underhanded, to emerge victorious over his enemies. The only thing that prevents him from attempting a coup is that it would probably be necessary to destroy Vandal in order to take his place, an action that would put Blackguard’s own existence in jeopardy.

While several centuries old, the Siege Masters can function just as well as any of their robot brethren. They lost most of their memories of future events when they were rebuilt, but may get occasional flashes of déjà vu in order to help the PCs(in the case of Valor) or hinder them(in the case of Blackguard).

So Friday night, I catch Enter the Dragon on AMC. Later on, I see Undercover Brother on Starz! Then Saturday morning, I'm watching Static Shock, and they have this super from the 60's named Soul Power show up. Big fro (in his younger days), did a funky dance after he beat the bad guys.

Throw it in a blender, and we get:

The Brotherhood:

A team of Blaxploitation super heros, fighting against the forces of The M.A.N. (Malevolent Aryan Nation), as they try and suppress minorities. It would have a comedic element to it, but deal with social issues (like Predjudice). The show only lasts one season, as Marvel Comics sues them over the name Brotherhood (because of the Brotherhood of Evil in X-men).

Haven't really come up with a lineup yet, though one would be called Buck Wild (which was an homage to Luke Cage, Powerman, that appeared in Milestone Comics a few years back).

So, sound good at all?

That's some kooky stuff, my friend! I dig it. The name of the bad guys simply couldn't be cooler. If you flesh this out further, please post it all here.