Char's Public Service Announcement


The things that pop into my head: I sent one of my players a text message of the Captain America Patience PSA from the end credits for Spider-Man Homecoming and it got me to thinking.  First of the Guns ‘N Roses song and then of an older superhero sitting down and giving some advice and within a minute or three it turned into this snippet of story that takes place on Earth-218…

Rudy/Char was my main superhero character for the old Marvel Superheroes campaign I was part of back in high school.  Rudy’s uncle (Juan) trained him in wrestling and helped provide alibis for his secret identity.  Pablo is Juan’s son and has tested positive for the X-Gene and wants to become a superhero too.
Do not try this at home...you will not get superpowers.  You will die.



Rudy’s Story - The Public Service Announcement

Pablo kicked the soccer ball in disgust and it sailed away into the darkness.  “I just don’ get it, man!  If my DNA says I’m s’pposed to have powers, then how come I ain’t got powers?”

Char shook his head, sat down and then the Hispanic hero peeled off his Luchador’s mask and tucked it into his belt.  He took a deep breath and that was when Pablo noticed the flecks of gray in his cousin Rudy’s goatee.  “It’s not something you can rush.  You can’t force it.  It will either happen or it won’t.  You have to let nature take its course.”


“Yeah, but you out there fightin’ monsters and supervillains and savin’ the world.  I’m sittin’ here jus’ bein’ useless.”

Rudy shook his head and sighed.  “I knew a kid like you once.  His name was Luis – he lived up the block from our grandmother.  Had the X-Gene or Metagene or whatever it is they’re calling it these days and tried to give himself an origin.  Hooked up a toaster to a car battery with some jumper cables and dropped it into a bathtub full of water.”


“Madre Dios…what kind of powers did he get?  Like shooting lightning?”

“No.  It killed him.  You get what I’m saying?  Best thing you can do is help out around here.  That’s how you help.  Take care of your family so I can do what I need to do out there.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Recent Posts

Smoke Powder Golem

Image
Smoke Powder Golem                                     CR13 (Original drawing of Smoke Powder Golem)   A Smoke Powder Golem is a blending of technology and the divine magic of Gond created to serve as temple guardians.   On average, the golem stands 12’ tall and weighs 8,000 pounds.   The smoke powder golem resembles the more common Iron Golem except its right arm has been replaced with the thick barrel of a bombard.   A large “backpack” has been built onto the golem and contains the ammunition for the golem’s cannon (internal magazine of six shells).   Firing the cannon causes the next shell to automatically, move into the firing chamber.   The golem smells of oil and sulfur.   N Large Construct Init: -1; Senses: Listen +0, Spot +0 Languages: Understands the langua...
Read more

Beldam (Other Mother from Coraline)

Image
I watched the movie “ Coraline ” for the first time this weekend.   Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen snippets of the film here and there over the years and I recognized the character when the movie started but I have never sat down and Watched the movie (or read the book).   By the time the show was over, I have to admit that I was fascinated by the entire thing.   The animation and pacing were incredibly well done and the main antagonist was delightfully wicked.   This is who I want to focus on today – Beldam, a.k.a. the Other Mother.   Some viewers may think that she was some sort of demon, offering children their heart’s desire in exchange for their souls, much like a crossroads demon but I feel like she more closely resembles a faerie, a member of the Unseelie Court who is allowed a great deal of independence in her operations.   I also think that since the protagonist, Coraline, was just a child that Beldam wouldn’t necessarily have been overly power...
Read more

The Magic of Mario-World Power-Ups for D&D

Image
Not so very long ago, one of my kids suggested that I write a blog post about using the Power-Ups from the Mario Brothers franchise.   Now, to be honest, the last Mario game I played was Super Mario 3 back whenever it came out but I thought, “Sure, why not?”   Well, it turns out that the number of Power-Ups has expanded exponentially in my almost 30 year absence.   Seriously, at the time of this writing, there’s like SEVENTY-NINE different ones available and that doesn’t even touch on the banana peels from Mario Kart. That said, instead of trying to stat out all of them, I’m just going to focus on the ones from the Super Mario Brothers game and call it good.   These include the Super Mushroom, the Fire Flower, the Invincibility Star, and the 1-Up Mushroom.   That’s it.   If you want the Penguin Suit, the Raccoon Suit, or a Yoshi, look somewhere else because I’m not going to cover those here. The Super Mushroom is pretty straightforward. ...
Read more

The EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle

Image
1976 GMC Motorhome Palm Beach model 26' Crew: 4     Passengers: 19 Cargo: 425 lbs.* Init: -4 Top Speed: 60 (6) - approximately 35 - 40 mph Defense: 6 (-4 size) Hardness: 10 SZ: G (8' wide x 26' long x 10' high) Purchase: 45     Restriction: Mil (+3) * each unused passenger slot allows the vehicle to carry an additional 100 lbs. of cargo. • 6 wheels with reinforced tires • Communications: High-Range Radio, Compass, GPS, Night Vision (via driver's periscope) • Back of vehicle opens for assault ramp Armaments: • 7.62mm Machine Guns (x2, forward arc) • Flamethrowers (4/side, fire-linked, over rear wheels) • Light Tank Gun (rear arc) • Rocket Rack (roof-mounted, retractable, 6 rockets) Despite performing well on its one and only (unauthorized) mission , the prototype EM-50 was decommissioned and flown back to the United States and placed in storage at the Sierra Army D...
Read more

A Horse By Any Other Name (Part 6)

Image
One Month after the Summer Solstice (Seventh Moon, 1000 ALB) Ra'ziir follows along beside Foil Hat, "What makes you think this 'Abacus' knows anything about planar travel?" The conspiracy theorist replies, "Oh, he's a wizard, knows all kinds of things about conjurations and summonings. If he doesn't have your answers, he'll probably know who to ask." "My little ponies!" Grotto winnies, "The confection shop is this way! How can we expect to confront this unknown on the word of the paranoid pony? We should surely go to this confectionery and get some information from another source. Are we to trust this one only because it was the first we encountered? More information is needed! We should fill our bellies, get reliable corroborating information there! Are we to blindly trust this one to lead us to a trap in the vulnerable state we are in?!" Grotto insists. "Plus that is where these phillies are!" Grotto thinks to ...
Read more

🎶 🎶 He's a Were-House 🎶 🎶 (to the tune of "Brick House")

Image
One of my players recently tagged me in this picture, more or less daring me to see what I could come up with. There are already other versions of this concept out there (I really like this one ). I know that larger versions of Mimics exist and I could convert them to whatever edition of the game we are playing but that would be cheating and doesn't fit the "spirit" of the post. This is what I came up with... Faizard Skitterbrook the Were-House CR: 3     Medium Humanoid (Human/Shapechanger) HD: 3d4    Hp: 8 Init: +1     Spd: 30' AC: 11 (+1 Dex), t: 11, ff: 10 or 15 (+1 Dex, +4 Mage Armor spell) Attacks: (BAB+1/Grap +1) ; +1 Staff: 1d6 (20/x2) or +2 Light Crossbow: 1d8 (19-20/×2, 80') SA: Arcane Spells (CL3; DC12 + spell level; 4/3/2); Improvised Weapons SQ: Transformation Align: CN    Saves: Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +4 Str: 11, Dex: 13, Con: 11, Int: 15, Wi...
Read more