In reply to facemaker329 (msg # 3):
Holy Spaceballs! I HAVEN'T seen that one, actually! That's AWESOME! Good for Levi. This may be viewed badly, but sadly I actually
like this movie, cheesy as it is, and so insert your own movie and know I probably like Hard Target as much as you like some of your favorites. That scene reminds me of Jean-Claude Vandamme's sailor in Target, at the very end, whhen he breaks the board in the fiery warehouse and leaves the main huntsmaster for dead.
I can just see the very "Bad Blood" explosion of the ship and Levi's character walking away with only sweat grease and the blood of the Hand. All so badass!
That's good though, I'm glad it had an impact on him. It feels good to be pressed, and know the right choice is what it takes, but you have to ACT, and you make that right choice. Good for him! Confidence breeds success, and risk brings reward.
MY best friend's ex-husband was like that; but sadly he slipped in the later years; I think largely from my friend, Anne, leaving him. For awhile though, he was touched by a Game I GMed. It was D&D 3.5 when the system had just had Complete Adventurer out, so it
felt like the full complete set was out; at least for the core classes archytpes; cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard. So I GMed a game from 1st to 20-something. It had split XP, but certain players died mor eof less, and some did side missions.
Well Matt, this guy, was playing a Favored Soul of Heironeous, but was Lawful NEutral. Well, the characters had to find new 'gods' called rulers. Essentially it was a world where the world "god" was taboo and worse than saying Voldemort, and there was only "The One" and no one dared say what he was (a god, THE god [well sort of]).
So Matt had Randal, his character, convert (by necessity) to Morad, the Judge and NOT the executioner. He was the ONLY ruler that gave judgement. Not even the good or evil ruler had hand in that, Morad alone followed the rules set by the very plane of judgement, elemental and sovereign.
The other characters, Bill's Zal being most pivotal, were largely on escapades of their own, constantly Anne asking for mini-sessions on different day, and Bill asking me to stay late (after group game at his parents' house).
Zal started as a paladin of St. Cuthber. Converted to the ruler Corid, god of emotion, knowledge, and among other things; vengeance. Zal knew a lot, he became the single most feared Pc when it came to raw combat. Zal was badass, but even then villains were in places he could not be.
So Zal hunted, day and night, and was consumed by righting every wrong. When he ran out of rights, he started to wrong those that were wrong. Consumed by the fact his charge, a young Monk named Kara, was raped and made to bear the child a chosen messiah and martyr that would die at Human years 3 and but maturity age 17, Zal found Leonard, openly, and admitted Leonard was Kara's rapist. Zal first converted to evil. Leonard was a creepy looking man, his grin just showed he was evil. Look up Crucin Bascar here
http://www.temple-of-lore.com/...mp=1&feat-13-val= (temple-of-lore.com/spoiler if the link is cut off and just search for Crucin Bascar) This is what Leonard looked like, and he looked more like the Cheshire Cat when Zal converted to evil, and Zall learned more of the knowledge through the new ruler, the Void Ruler Kitae' from the Pagan and dark Void world.
Zal never raped, and kept his consultation with Leonard secret. He became more and more dark, and cruel, but never shed his facade of the justice bringer, but there were hints. Zal had the ability to misdirect his alignment to the Lawful Good charge he had saved, but whose rapist schemer (not actual rapist but schemer) was teahcing him. So the group would checkm and WZal was always Lawful Good...to the divination.
Finally Leonard said there was one more lesson, but he wanted something special for the final Student to master gift. He sent Zal to slaughter the Mystic Empire, the mage rulers of the eastern continent, and Zal obliged. He when through the stretts, carrying his shadow magic symbol, his heretical symbol openly, and walked up the gates and began to climb the wall. The mageknight fired on him, and only hit hardened iron. He began to use the mageknights as fodder to bait the Mystic Seven to finally rear their heads. He just walked along the wall kill two with each round, and he was so empowered by just how much investment he put into his character, his tactical choice of artifacts (each PC had two) that there was no need for roll. If he rolled a 1, he simply failed to critically hit, but still hit normall. If he didn;t roll a natural 1, he critically hit his enemy.
Finally the Mystics showed up, and he convinced them another evil had done this teleported away, and persuaded them by sheer knowledge only Corid's Hand could know, to each give their ear and eye. Afterall, they had magic to restore it, it was about saving the world "aren't you supposed to support us, as we save the world. Wopuld you not give an eye for eye, and ear for an ear; after we saw to your dangers, and heard your plights?" and the Mystics, haltingly agreed. They mere squeemish, but Zal was a paladin...in their eyes.
Zal returned to Leonard and laid the organs on the table, cleaned like trophies. Leonard laughed, and grinned like the diaturbed mascot. Zal asked the final lesson. "You have already learned it. To open your mind and heart to the darkness, and in it, only then shall you find true Vengeance, only then will you think of doing whatI have. If you have killed the Mystics, you must already know this"
Zal, smirked on his one side and sneered on the other. No, he hadn't, not yet. LEonard began to rave "Now that you are corrupted, you understand you are my greatest glee. You fool! Did you not know, you will never save your precious Kara! You-" Zal pulled his sword "I never said I would let you live, Leonard" "And how do you intend to kill me." "By your own bane...Leonard" LEonard grinned and Zal showed the bane of Leonard, a special exception Zal knew about that would essentially bind Leonard to the prison plane of the Executioner and Warden ruler. Then Zal said "Now don't lose your smile, Leonard" and just cut off Leonard's head. And the black knaves head was still smiling.
But Zal wasn't done. He knew what he had to do, and he was, in truth corrupted. He diod infact follow Kitae. But news ahd Spread, and we come full circle to Matt and Randal. Which I bet you were wondering about. Matt's Randal was barely epiuc, saying that he wasn't off on midnight scurries with Mystics, or prusuing godhood, now, he was tending to the people. Doing the everyday tasks SOMEONE should do, guarding the keep, getting supplies, putting leaderhship the kingdom the other two PCs forgot thjey had followers in that looked to Them.
So when Randal contacted the Mystics, he heard of of Zal's scapegoat. Rnadlas checked, and sure enough, no...that man was dead. Either that was not Zal, or Zal was no longer himself. Randal scryed on Zal, and found out enough. Then Randal traveled to the Mystic District most likely to be attacked, Chronos, the shady timelord, Zal had already had beef with. And Randal began to plan. Matt went all out, and wrote up all these plans and procedures. IT was quite elegant. Matt even missed the game week and and said "No, no, Bill and Anne like to go on their little mini-missions, I'll wait. I'm stay home and plan" and they did. Anne did her thing and Bill his. Then when we were getting close to midnight my phone rang and it was Matt. He asked "If Zal going to the Mystic District soon" and told him not wiothout MAtt there. So he asked if he could come over, and we agreed.
So then and there Matt and Bill had this epic showdown. Vengeance against Justice. There was little rolling that took place. It would be tedious and not very interesting to explain, but by "bidding" essentially using their artifacts in creative ways and Randal having an arsenal of planned defenses, and the foresight of everything Zal could do. Randal called on all these favors, and all these little bits of influence, and managed to get his epic spell, the binding and bashing spell off. He needed a high roll, not natural 20, but I think 15+, and he did that twice.
'And Zal was banished, forever, to the Void System. Then he bound the portal to the Void plane so that no summoning or calling Zal coudld be made. Because it was tied to a single, one single creature, Zal it increased the difficulty to ovecome. Then he used all his spellpower allowed by the roll to cover from shore to shore, about the distance of southwestern to southeastern Africa (which is what the continent vaugue resemlbed: Africa) and Zal could never enter there, even if somehow someone called him. Well, it would take difficult no ruler could even make, like a DC 150+ something (he had the helped of the Mystics to boost it, so yeah....;s Zal was gone).
Afterward Matt said to Anne (while they were married) "If Randal can go from 1st toi epic, then I can get a job. I showed that this made up person can do a world of good. If Randal can do that, I can do things I also put my mind to" and he did, for a few years.
It was bittersweet, like I said. Anne had to leave Matt, not out of spite but marital disfucntion. They would ahve made great friends, but they only got married so Anne's work could give him healthcare.
I think after that was too proud admit how hurt he was. The group got together for months afterward. Well, when Anne was moving in with me, out of financial need. IT really just...sort of made things awkward. Anne and I are thick as thieves, but we're friends, and there's almost no romance, just respect and love for each other's company. The chemistry....it;s different. But I don;t blame Matt. The most likely case was that I stole her. Far from the truth, I councilled Anne and was her devil's advocate.
Matt did well for awhile though, I'm glad I left an impression even if it didn't last for long. I still have a letter his character wrote tucked in safe place for that saga, the saga that spanned ages that...he will probably never see...but it meant a lot to me, that he would spend all that time in a world I made and he inhabited and made rich. He also made an audio cut scene for Randal's spell of binding. He also gave me copy, on a CD (That I should REALLY
back up! Og god! I'll do that tonight!). It used in games I GM for Anne adn others who know alot about Matt and became our group since. Randal will always be the Morad of the Bright System, and it really makes me happy he gave me that gift. That letter, and that song, and that time, and I gave him a few years of goodness and confidence. I think I got the better deal...I really wish I could repay him. *shrug* Alas, some scars never heal. Matt I'll miss, but I'll always have those mementos of Randal...