Tiny Weasels

I spent the morning yesterday at kindergarten graduation for my youngest son and daughter.  It was only a couple of hours, but I wanted to spend a few minutes remembering it here.  I thought as I got home about all the work I have to do (very busy lately) and then smiled when I realized that years from now, I'll not have a clue what I was doing at work today and I'll only remember spending the morning with two of my kids.



My first two children are mine with my ex.  Gabriel was given to me with my wife.  So I have a total of three.  They are Gabe (5), Sabrina (6) and Chandler (7).   Gabe was only 2 when I met Amy.  His biological father has never acknowledged him.  I hope I don't unexpectedly meet him on the street.  Sabrina and Chandler come to my house everyday after school and now that summer is starting, they'll just spend their days at my house with Amy.  I don't get to see them as much, but I do get to see them every day.  Every other weekend they stay with us and we're planning a giant week long family vacation in June.



Having so many kids all about the same age all the time can be a little wild.  But I can honestly say that I enjoy each of them.  Right now, their world is still pretty much our family.  But soon friends and activities will pull them away.



There is a powerful lesson you learn when you have to give up living with your children full time.  I know about every parent feels guilty about spending too much time away.  But there isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel a little loss at the days I don't get.  The time I do get is great, but still... all those days lost.  I won't lose one day more than I have to.



Gabe is doubly special.  I truly felt that the currents of fate brought a father without his children to a child without his father.  Our relationship is certainly different, but to him I'll be his only dad.  That makes me try harder.  My relationship with my own step-father didn't really take hold until I was 20.  But then I was 9 when I met him.  My own dad flubbed things badly and that probably also delayed having a better relationship with my step-dad.  No issues with that here.  I formally adopted Gabe because I never wanted him to feel like a dad didn't want him.  I want him to always know that I chose him beyond just being in love with his mother.



There is nothing that inspires more joy in my heart than having the 3 of them piled on top of me watching a movie.  Hug your kids today and quietly thank fate for the time you have with them.

The slippery slope of Play by Post

The time constrained d20 player finds himself (or herself) struggling to get in a good game.  Few child rearing adults have the spare time they once had for 48 hour stretches of power gaming on a regular basis.  So a viable lessor alternative is the concept of "play by post."  I'm sure most of you know how this works, but for the occassional family member that might be browsing my blog... Play by post is simply playing D&D by posting your character's actions to a message board on the internet.  This slows game play down to a single or perhaps a few "actions" per day as each player might only post something once a day or every other day.



The advantage to the busy player is that you can spend just a few minutes a day "playing" instead of an entire weekend.  Unfortunately, it's a very short fix.  It's like giving methadone to a heroin addict...  It might stave off the worst of withdrawl symptoms, but it doesn't cure the addiction.



Soon the small fix of one play by post game isn't enough.  The player seeks out more play by post games.  While each game involves a small time commitment, they do add up.  Since posting is erradically paced sometimes days will go by with no post.  Somedays will see a flood of posts.  The posting lag times are agonizing and may drive the player to dig an even deeper hole and decide to host a play by post of their own.



I would like to warn you all of the dangers of play by post.  It is a slippery slope that leads to procrastination and eating at your desk.  Soon you'll be hiding your web browser behind your other work documents.  You might even begin to sneak player guides in to work in your bags--carefully hiding them under papers or in drawers.  If not books, then you'll seek electronic files for better concealment.  This in itself can lead to the addiction of PDF purchasing.  Soon you'll be selling yourself on the street--pandoring your own PDF's in an attempt to justify the addiction as a legitimate hobby or even side business.  But deep down you'll know... you'll hear the whispers "click refresh just one more time--maybe someone posted..." you will purposely not think about what the 55 downloaded PDF's cost in total...



Then comes the day when a work aquaintance wonders unexpected in to your cube while you frantically try to simultaneously hide the open d20 Star Wars Revised Core Rules hardback book and close the multiple damning windows open on your PC.  As you try to stammer out your non-challant excuses in defense, the mental shout of "GEEK" will ring in your un-pointed ears.



Whoa unto you if you play by post.  It is the devils tool.  Be warned!

End of Sock Hanukah

I personally hate matching socks.  Laundry isn't so bad--washing clothes and putting away stuff is pretty easy on the scale of house hold chores.  But socks vex me.  They never match and sorting out 3 kids worth is a pain.  So I have elected to keep a clean sock basket and just dump all the socks in it.  Then each individual can fish out their own pair.



The unfortunate downside to this method is that I never know exactly how many pairs I have in the hamper... I think I must have the fewest pairs over all.  So after about a week the hunt for socks gets more and more challenging.  It becomes something of a blessing each day to eek out another pair.  Well today the sock basket was one short.  The miracle has ended.

Game Day canceled

Well the game day thing isn't going to work out.  The guys back home were either scheduled to work or otherwise couldn't quite make the drive.  My attempts to make it up there instead have been equally quashed.



I must say I miss having a regular game group immensely.  Seems odd that in a huge city like KC that I can't find a good group.  No one bothered to tell me in High School that I'd only end up with 5-6 hours a week for any free time activities! LOL



Kansas (and probably the whole mid-west) is just a little to repressed to have scads of RPG fans.  There's plenty around, but I think I must require a pretty narrow sub-set of game buddies.  Or maybe I just keep comparing all new game groups to my old one (which is of course the best).  But mostly I think I just don't have the time.  One weekend a month is about the best I can hope for and I never know exactly what weekend that's going to be.  Ah well, seems like a silly thing to be disappointed about.



There's a million more things I should be making time for--like better exercise, fixing the house, general house work, better financial planning, better organization, more time with wife, more time with kids, probably even more time on just keeping up at work.  All way more important than a few more hours of dinking around.



I've been fighting this tide for about 5 years now--just less and less time for gaming.  Maybe it's time to hang up the dice bag for a while.  I bet if I knocked out some of these other things, that free time might magically re-appear.  Dunno for sure... I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Sid Dantalis - Character Concept

I thought I'd post something geekish that I've been working on.  Feel free to steal Sid as an NPC.

Sid Dantalis, Human Jedi Consular

A young follower of the faith with ability and intelligence. Sid is a capable negotiator and a reliable agent of the Council. Occassionally Sid wishes for less responsibility. Trained in the usual way from a young age, all he's ever known is the Jedi way. The doctrine can't be argued with, but still... sometimes "a damned fool crusade" seems attractive. He worships the old Jedi Masters (as much as is allowed anyway)--wishing he could have been there to help. Young Sid is forever hiding his youthful yearning and often tells himself to grow up. His parents are alive and very proud. He has lived on Courisant his whole life (really could have lived anywhere it is appropriate).

Right now he's seriously reconsidering his career choice. The people that respected him are now turning against the order. Sid won't admit it, but he's scared. Even the Masters seems on edge. Everyone senses the tide, but no one seems to doing something about it.

Sid Dantalis Human male Jedi Consular(1)

Str 14, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 18

VP: 10, WP: 15, Defense 17 (base 10 + 3 class +2 DMA +2 Dex) Flat 10 Touch 17

Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +4

Melee: Punch Attack +2 (base 0 +2 Str) 1d4+4 dam, Stun Baton Attack +2 (base 0 +2 Str) Stun DC 15, Lightsaber Attack +2 (base 0 +2 Str) 2d8+2 dam

Ranged: Thrown Weapon Attack +2 (base 0 +2 Dex)

Feats & Class Abilities:

Force Training (Conrol), Deflect (+1), Exotic Weapon (lightsaber), Force-Sensitive, Weapon Group (Blasters), Weapon Group (Simple), Martial Arts, Defensive Martial Arts

Skills:

Bluff (Cha) +8, Diplomacy (Cha) +8, Gather Info (Cha) +6, Knowledge (Jedi Lore) +4, Sense Motive (Wis) +6, Battlemind (Con) +6, Force Defense (Cha) +8, Force Stealth (Cha) +8, Heal Self (Cha) +8, Treat Injury (Wis) +6

Kit:

Stun Baton, Combat Gloves, Fusion Lantern, All-Temp Cloak, Medpac, 150 credits



An intro story hook for Sid and his former Master...

Saris Nostic, Human Female Jedi Consular

 “Sid, get down!” She hissed.  Both cloaked figures dropped behind the unloaded cargo.  Each was tall and lean, one was obviously a woman the other was a teen boy, but could have been mistaken for either gender in the deep cloak.

 After a few tense moments the sound of the Port Authority guards trailed off.

 “I don’t think I should leave your side, Master.” Said the boy.

 She looked at him and gave a rare small smile.  “We can’t fight the whole imperial navy even back to back.  Our first priority is to preserve the Order.  To do that we must survive.”  Her senses could see his fear tilting like a scale in his heart.  “There is no fear, my young one.  We must do.”

 He hated it when she called him that.  Sid had been training with Saris for almost 10 years—ever since he had come to the academy.  He could clearly remember all the years she was his teacher and how his heart nearly burst when she selected him of all the padwan to be her student.  But today was nothing he would have imagined back then.  He took a moment to calm himself again.

 “Yes, I know.  I will do as you command.  I will meet you in Nar Shadda.  I’ll find you at the Carbonite lounge in the Rodian district.  I will stay out of trouble.  If anyone asks, I’m Sid Dorn from Escalis and I’m looking for trade work until I can buy passage.  I have the identity papers and my cred chip.”  The youth recites the instructions faithfully and pat checks his pockets to ensure the security of the gift from his Master.

 Saris maintains her smile despite the whirls of Force she sees around the boy.  His fate isn’t decided yet, but it won’t be easy for him.  Internally she chides herself, I’m not the boy’s mother after all and I should know better than to pull stunt like this.  But something deep inside tells her this is the right thing—to protect at least one.  Maybe there is hope.  Or maybe you still haven’t resolved yourself to being childless.  A nagging thought, she chose to ignore it.

 “Stick to that story.  Don’t try to be a hero.  You’re only priority is to survive.”  She touched his shoulder.  There was a brief awkward moment and then the teen surprised her with an embrace. She wanted to chastise him for such an emotional display, but she couldn’t.  Gently she pulled way.

 “Now go.  Use your skills to hide and become just ordinary Sid Dorn for your passage.  I… I will do my part as your Master.”  It wasn’t a promise to see him again, but it was the best she could do.

 The boy darted aboard the cargo vessel as she carefully distracted the single loader.

Sid found the expected maintenance niche that Saris had told him would be there.  As he ducked down inside he heard a commotion outside.

“STOP! You there!  After her!” came the shouts.  Sid struggled inside, ready to run out and delay the guards.  But he remembered his Master’s commands.  She would be alright, she was a Master.  He hoped.

Busy week

Well the weekend is over and this week is going to be full.  I had a great time taking the kidlets to parks though.  We went to a petting zoo and played frisbee and, of course, hit the slides.  Good fun for all.  My oldest boy (7 1/2) thinks he wants to learn dungeons & dragons... I'll admit I want him to play too, but I worry that I might burn him out early!  After some digging I think he'd like Star Wars best.  I've never played a SW game... but I still have the books.



My wife has a math final tonight.  She'll be one class closer to finishing her BA which will then turn in to a teaching cert.  So after tonight she gets a bit of a summer vacation (from class anyway!)  This week kicks off with an all-girls shopping weekend in KC.  My mom, an aunt, my sister-in-law, my sister and a cousin are all coming down this weekend to shop.  Since the house will be mostly devoid of women folk (they're even renting a hotel), I thought I'd host a manly game weekend.  Here in the mid-west we don't let our women play RPG's... it's not lady-like.  Or maybe they just don't enjoy fat old guys pretending to be uber-cool heroes.  Whatever the reason, there are few girls in my gaming circle.  I plan on running a d20 Modern game for the guys.



So there's much to do... house work and all that.  Plus game planning.  I think there's about 2-3 more good weekends of work to do before the house is "settled."  Then I can finish re-modelling...  Sometime next year I need to re-do a bathroom.  And then there's the landscaping... hmmm...  Oi! too much planning.



Laters

Murpy

Murpy (MUR-PEE): adj

1. To feel murped

A random word made up word from my teens.  When you just felt sort of... murpy.  Not really crappy or totally bummed--just murpy.  When you don't really have anything to really complain about, but for some reason (real or imagined) you just don't feel excited to be here in general.



I could go on about a litany of things that aren't Great!(tm), but really I got nothing to complain about.  But I think about every human wishes for "more" no matter what. 



Sometimes I feel "stuck".  Not like stuck with the people in my life (I love all of my family dearly and wouldn't want anything any different than it is today).  But just stuck in general.  In the last 5 years there have been several limits I've hit for which I had no ability to overcome.  Again I don't want to complain because I have waaaay more than I need, but ya'know.  When you hit a wall and can't get over it the question becomes "What now?"  Do you set up camp and live at the wall? Take a tangent? Go back?  This is an over-simple analogy, but you get the idea.



No matter what you do in life, somewhere sometime you are going to run in to something you just can't change.  So you have to decide what to do with it.  You have to find some way to live with.  But you probably can't make yourself happy about it.  Somedays this is easy, sometimes hard and sometimes it's just mildly annoying (like today). 



Well anyways, I've spent enough time murping (yes it's a verb too).



Maybe we can all have a murp party sometime where we can all murp about the stuff we know we can't change but have to live with anyway.  Maybe we can even paint silly faces on them... *ponder*

Lies my Teacher Told Me

Despite the witty title, this isn't going to be a comic piece.  Lies my Teacher Told Me is actually a book.  I'm about 80% of the way through it and I just wanted to share it.  The main purpose of this non-fiction title is talk to the reader about common misconceptions taught in high school history and the impact those misconceptions can then have on society.  Ever wonder why there seem to be so many idiots out there? Well most of them are taught to be that way.



James Loewen (the author) reviews 12 of the most popular history texts and then proceeds to tell you the "real" story from the primary historical references.  He also explains why the misconceptions have held up even when factually they are completely wrong.  You might think reading a history book of any sort is dull, but this work is very well written, fun and engaging.



Loewen writes about Helen Keller, Woodrow Wilson, Columbus, the Native Americans and even current history like Vietnam and the 90's.  It's full of facinating facts you never heard about in your history class.  While most folks would know who Helen Keller is, few would be able to tell you that she devoted her life afterwards to supporting communist parties and ideals.  Initially she set out to fight blindness and disability, but quickly discovered that most people who suffered from disabilities were from poor economic classes.  So a key component to solving the problem was to improve the economic standing of lower classes (in America).  American textbooks won't discuss the class system that exists in the US.  So history books just leave it out.  In fact, history books leave out a shocking amount.



There are many key events in history that have set the stage for the USA to be unpopular in the world.  The reasons for these events are not random... people don't just decide to not like Americans.  We've done amazingly stupid things in other countries that we conveniently "forget" by not teaching it.  The new generation then blindly walks in the world thinking that "we're okay!"  Despite how you might feel about the politics of war, economics or foreign policy, you still have to teach what happened and give some theories about why.  Else each generation will continue to bumble along making the same mistakes or coming up with inappropriate solutions to the wrong problems.



It's easy to tell where Loewen's biases are.  He clearly states his opinions, but also sights the desenting views to give the reader something to really chew on.  The purpose of the book isn't to sway you to his line of thinking, but simply to get you thinking!



I have found the book facinating because it explains so much about why the really big things happened.  The Civil Rights movement, for example, just didn't pop up because of the Civil War.  There was a time when Reconstruction was working and black peoples were being integrated in to society, but the advent of Wilson's presidency brought in a sweeping racist change.  Wilson eliminated nearly all black people from political offices, implemented segregation and was intensely racist himself!  That set the stage for what would eventually become the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's.  It didn't just "happen".  Further, it wasn't just resolved by the government.  Even the revered John Kennedy wouldn't take the movement seriously.  JFK was against equal rights for blacks.  It was only when white people started to die that the nation took the issue seriously.  The people of this nation practically had to force the government to take action.  But if you read your textbooks you get the impression that the US government recognized the issue of racism and fixed the problem.



This one fact alone scare the be-jebus out of me.  Millions of students are being taught that the government "does the right thing" on it's own.  So they then don't have to worry about it or be involved.



Anyways... It's a good book with a lot of eye-opening facts about history.  If you have children, you definitely need to read it.  Be prepared to tell your kids that sometimes what they learn in school isn't always exactly the way it is.  Let's raise some thinkers!  We're going to need them.

Favorite things

My wife asked me the other day what things I look forward to in a day.  The mental excercise of actually choosing things I liked was fun--much more fun than worrying about the things I didn't like.  So here's a list of "little things" I love.



I like a cool breeze blowing through an open bedroom window on a mildly stormy morning.  The distant rumbles of thunder, the wind in the trees and wonderful scent of rain just beginning combine to one of the best things ever.



I love checking play-by-post and seeing a new post.  I so rarely get to be a player that even the 30 minutes I get to write a paragraph is a joy, even if brief. (So post more often!)



I love finding a new cool game book.  I'm a rules junky.  I don't use the rules often and even when I do I'm not too religious about them.  I just like having the framework of a system to fall back on.



I love a good cup of coffee--lots of cream and a dash of sugar.  The only thing better than a good cup of of coffee is 3 cups.



Of course nothing compares to the 3 tiny hugs I get everyday after work (when I get home early enough).



I love getting to chat with a friend.  IM is probably the only thing that keeps me sane here in Kansas.  When I moved away from Nebraska 7 years ago, I never intended to leave forever.  So I kept up IM, posting and frequent visits.  As the years have gone by this system has proven remarkably effective.  I don't know if it will work forever, but I'm going to see.  There aren't a lot of game players in my immediate circle of contacts in KC.  So I love talking to my old friends and the few new friends I've stumbled across.



Similar, but slightly different.  I love getting message from my brother.  He lives in Washington and we only get to see each other about once a year.  Messages don't come often, but I love getting them.  Hi Justin!



Also, throughout a normal day my wife will send a steady stream of messages.  It's pretty cool to still be plugged in to the house even when I'm far away (or just at the office).



Video games... cool, but really only distant 2nd to playing with other people.  Probably why the MMORPG's have hooked me.  It's better than a normal vid, but not quite as cool as in person gaming, but also more available.



A great book or a great movie when they happen are... uh... great! *grin*



My new house is a constant amazement.  I've owned homes before, but this is the first one I've tried to re-model.  I hate the work, but the results are amazing.  Each day I come home and see my favorite colors is attitude improving.



An ice cold (like just starting to be slushy) Coke after working outside... mmmmm.  None of the diet crap either.



A cigar with a nice tawny port.



The fuzzy, purring, drooling cat greeting I get (or my wife gets) every morning.  Lucy is the best cat ever.



Hard wood floors.  So much nicer to my toes.  It makes me happy just to walk on them.



Strangely, a good country song playing loudly as I drive the truck is oddly satisfying.  I never really thought of myself as particularly country... but something about owning that giant truck made me get cowboy boots and "go country".  Sometimes I even fantasize about a hat.  I was born in Nebraska, I figure I'm allowed.

Entry for May 04, 2005

Nothing much going on today.  Just another day at work.  I try not to think too deeply about my days at work.  8 hours is far to long to spend on this stuff, but... eh... it's a living.  I even managed to complete an expense report from my trip 2 months ago.... heh.



I much prefer the endless diversions of friends, good stories and fun games.  I'm still working on pre-made characters for a d20 Modern game I'd like to run in later this month.  We'll have to see how it goes though.  There's lots to do around the house.



Some time on the ride to work I had another Modern campaign idea.  Have the PC's play the handlers/personal assistants/security for a deranged celebrity or whacko politician.  Sort of like "the Apprentice" or "the Osbournes"...  I was also thinking of the Burt Reynolds character from Strip Tease.  You could work out a wide variety of scenes that would mostly be non-FX and non-combat.  Just an idea.



The other cool idea I had this week was about a business idea.  I look around and I see folks struggling to get everything finished in their lives... too much work, too many house chores, too many appointments, etc.  So I thought a community that offered "life management" might be attractive to some.  Imagine a small housing and/or apartment community with all the usual luxuries.  Now... the management company doesn't just mow your grass and fix your appliances, it also tracks your appointments, does your grocery shopping, cleans your house, does your laundry, etc.  Maybe even (as an option) controls your diet and suggests excercise schedules.  Naturally most of your income is consumed by the management company and you are left with only your truly expendible income for junk.  Sounded plausible in my head...



Other random news.  I think I need a new 2nd vehicle.  The f-150 truck is great, but also chugs gas like a... a... well like a 20' truck.  So I'm thinking I can get by with something smaller.  Lower payment, lower insurance and lower gas.  I'm thinking about a Hybrid (cuz they're kinda cool gadgets) or if not, then some other rice-burner foreign job.  Any thoughts?



Time to pack up and head home so that I can watch the kidlets while my beautiful wife (she reads this ya'know) goes to class.  Catch y'all later.

The Illuminated

Logistics:  Weekend of May 21^st either at my house in Overland Park or in Lincoln (as is possible for you guys).  We can always shoot for another weekend.  But I’m pretty much booked in June.

When: The near future.  Roughly 2010, things are more or less the same, but progress might have brought in a surprise or two.

Where: Starting location will be Miami (no reason, I just like Miami).  Modern travel being what it is, the target will likely not be someplace so nice.

Who:  You are an operative/consultant to a security organization known as Centurion Gordian International.  You can either be a full-time employee or an independent.  But for whatever reason when you receive the call for this mission you respond.  In general what makes a Modern Hero stand out from the crowd is the desire to act and not standby.  Imagine the sort of folks who will not be hostages, always walk in to the dark room and never leave well-enough alone.

Why: You decide what has motivated your character to be here.  You can choose to know any member of the team, all of them or none of them. It might work out better if you all knew of each other, but really it doesn’t matter.

What:  As a “magic trick” of gaming, I’m going to give you the briefing text (below) in advance.  You can therefore craft a character with appropriate skills for the mission.  This is obviously why you were contacted in the first place.

“Greetings, thank you for coming on such short notice.  I had some free doughnuts, bagels and coffee delivered.  Feel free to help yourself.  Hold off questions until the end of the presentation, if you please.

We have been contracted to retrieve an object know as the Sun Stone.  The object is currently in the possession of a secretive rival security group—Longinus Enterprises.  LE has several mundane branches and a collection of assets ‘off the books.’  We believe the Sun Stone to be in possession of one of LE subsidiaries in Cairo.  Travel has been arranged for you.

CG has only found a few ancient references to the Sun Stone.  Little is known other than its physical dimensions—a roughly 4’ tall obelisk, 20 inches square at the base and… weighing 1000 pounds.  The last bit is only a guess as the measurement system used in the reference is extinct.  But we know the object is supposed to be difficult to move.  We have the excerpts if you’d like to review them yourself.  We have dubbed this object ‘the flashlight’ and this project is code named ‘Illuminate’.

By tracking some of the accounting and personnel used by LE, we have targeted El Ezz Flat Steel, a foundry on the banks of the Nile, to be the most likely location of the flashlight.  LE often uses legitimate businesses has physical covers for literally underground operations.  We believe there is an extensive underground facility beneath the foundry.

Our sole field contact in the city has been driven in to hiding.  You will have to find Ahmez Akim, in order to gain current information about the plant and possible routes in to the underground.  Ahmez also has control of all our “clean” monetary assets in the region.

Once you find Ahmez, gain access to the secret base, find the flashlight and deliver it to the cargo ship ‘Sophmore’ docked at this location on the Nile.  It is 2 miles up river from the steel mill.

We can provide virtually any gear you require, but we can not license you for legitimate possession of most weapons in Egypt.  Keep a low profile, at least until you’re ready to enter the foundry.  The Sophmore will leave dock as soon as you arrive with the flashlight.  We will transport you and the cargo to Rome for delivery to the client.”

Skills characters in your party should have…

• Disable Device (in the biggest way possible)
  
• Read/Write Arabic (national language of Egypt)
  
• Computer Use
  
• Research
  
• Gather Information
  
• All characters should have at least one of these: Personal Firearms, Combat Martial Arts, Archaic Weapons
  
• Armor proficiency of some kind
  
• Bluff
  
• Spot
  
• First Aid and/or Surgery
  
• Drive (maybe even Pilot)
  
• At least one character should be specialized at combat
  
• Knowledge: Streetwise
  
• Suggested Knowledge skills: Arcane, Theology, Tactics, Human Behavior

 

Characters Generation:  I will create a handful of characters appropriate for the mission.  You can pick one of these or create your own 10^th level PC.  You can use about anything in the MSRD / d20 Modern rules except the spell casting classes.  I have special rules for the magically bent where by unusual effects can be generated, but it is a different system than traditional spell use.  I will have a couple of “arcane/divine” oriented characters to pick.  I will try to get them up before hand so we can discuss changes or who’s playing who.

All races are allowed, but 99.999% of the population is Human.  Elves (including Drow) and Dwarves pass as adult human with odd (or unnoticed) characteristics.  Gnomes and Hobbits are almost universally mistaken for children.  Half-Orcs would be on par with the Elephant man in freakishness.  Goblins, while possible, would be quite exotic and probably perceived as rainforest pygmies or individuals with extreme deformities.  Aasimar and Tiefling are both possible (with level modifiers), the other exotic races are not appropriate for PC’s at this time.

Material I am comfortable with comes from the d20 Modern Core rules, Urban Arcana (minus the spell casters), Blood & Fists, Blood & Relics, Blood & Circuits, Modern Players Companion 1&2 (minus magic), Weapons Locker, Blood & Guts (mostly for equipment).  I don’t expect any of you to actually have or buy these for this one-shot.  But I listed them just in case.

Purchasing personal gear is something of a challenge.  I will suggest “kit packages” for your character.  In addition, you will be given an opportunity to requisition equipment from Centurion Gordian.  This will limit you to items roughly DC 36 and below.  Military and Restricted gear will be obtainable at a +3 and +2 Purchase DC penalty.  This also means that being caught with it will land you in an Egyptian prison.  You will be delivered to Cairo with all your gear in a relatively (or at least “assumed”) safe location.  That condition may change.

I will be posting character concepts/information to this forum...

http://www.intrepidheroes.com/forum/cutecast/cutecast.pl?session=iiLSaYdJpreDdM...