The Mermaid's Tail

I got home from work one day and my wife and her sister were talking about how some girl in one of their online games had spent $2500 on a mermaid's tail.  I was like "?" and they told me that I had heard them correctly.  As first I was thinking "Wow, that could be a really good deal" until they said it was a virtual item.

So, for emphasis, a person spent 2500 Real-Life Dollars on a digital collection of pixels.

Obviously, this has no effect on my life and it isn't my business to tell anyone how to spend their money but it did get me to thinking that a Mermaid's Tail is something that you could encounter in a superhero-setting and THAT got me to thinking that I could probably give it stats and a cost.

But how would it work?

I am not an electrical engineer or a certified diver.  I have no practical expertise to bring to the design board but this is what I came up with....


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Osse - The Forgotten Continent of the Forgotten Realms

Image
Osse is one least detailed continents of the Forgotten Realms.   There is almost no canon information regarding it or its inhabitants.   Even the Forgotten Realms wiki has little to say about this Australian-analog. So, of course, my players will be going there eventually .   I sat down with what little information I had and began fleshing out ideas for what I feel should be there.   It isn’t far from Kara-Tur and that got me to thinking about Monster Island from the old Godzilla movies so I decided that Osse must be the spawning ground for Kaiju.   There is also no equivalent (at last not really) for the myths of Atlantis so I made the interior of the continent home to my own version of that as well.   This is what I came up with. Capital: None Population: 711,813 (68% Ossean Human, 22% Poseidian Human, 4% Lizardfolk, 3% Aarakocra, 1% Mountain Dwarf, 1% Shoal Halfling) Government: City-States, Tribes Religion: Jazirian (also known as the Rainbow Serpent), Bahloo (Sel
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 Depot in Northern C
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 powerful, holding a relatively low
Read more

Gisaku Fujita - Ninja Chef

Image
Gisaku Fujita Original Concept Drawing Job Title: Ninja Chef Qualities               Average [+0] Ninja Good [+2] Chef Good [+2] Karaoke Singer Good [+2] Food Safety Poor [-2] Money Mgmt Background: Gisaku Fujita is a chef, like Gisaku Fujita's father before Gisaku Fujita. Gisaku Fujita likes to sing and has terrible impulse control when it comes to spending money. Element: Fire Clan: Five-Fingered Foot Matter of Honor: Gisaku Fujita will always speak of Gisaku Fujita in the third person. Honor Score: 10 Gear Ninja Burger Uniform (bullet-resistant, fire-retardant, and stain resistant – includes ninja mask, tabi boots, and fingerless gloves) Pocket GPS (with screen that displays team member location) Wireless Headset (with built-in camera and microphone) Frying Pan, Spatula, Assorted Spices Gisaku Fujita : Human (male) Ninja 1 CR: 1     Medium Humanoid (Human)     HD: 1d6+1     Hp: 7 Init: +3     Spd: 30'     AC: 13 (+3 Dex, Ninja Burger Uniform*) Attacks: (BAB +0, Grap +0)
Read more

BeyBlades for D&D

Image
Turns out that my kids are into the whole “ Beyblade ” thing and the only thing the youngest one asked for this year for Christmas was a “Winning Valkyrie” Beyblade.   Aside from knowing that the game is basically a modernized version of battling tops and that there is a cartoon to promote the toy, I knew absolutely nothing about Beyblades up until this weekend. As I watched the boys play with their new “Beys”, I found myself fascinated by their game and the way they talked about different types of strategies and customized builds for their tops.   I gave some thought to a “BeyBlog” that would focus on different combinations of parts, the results of mini-tournaments, product reviews, and maybe a breakdown of individual episodes of the show (although how they managed to wring enough drama out of top-spinning to produce three seasons of the show with over 50 episodes per season confounds me entirely). Given the age of Beyblade’s target demographic I am currently shelving this
Read more

Accidentally Funny

Image
Humor is not that unusual in gaming sessions.   When it happens on accident however, it can create long-lasting memories. Once upon a time, I ran a solo adventure for a dwarf named Happy Jack.   Happy was a psychic and an inventor of sorts.   From the pressurized wooden keg full of alchemist’s fire worn on his back with the spray nozzle and sparker to his own brand of beer, Happy Jack was an innovator.   His player always made sure to take good notes of his adventures so he could review what had happened and plan Happy’s next move. For the adventure, I adapted the AD&D 2 nd ed module “Wizard’s Challenge”.   I placed my telling of this tale in Eveningstar in northern Cormyr.   The village, a favorite retreat of King Azoun’s was ruled over by Tessaril Winter.   She was known for mentoring mages of all talents and was a magnet for hopeful apprentices. Several years prior to Happy Jack’s adventures in the village, mysterious circumstances caused the sudden demise of several ap
Read more