Why I Love Movies: The Pilot

  I grew up in central Indiana (off and on) and was lucky to live near enough to Indianapolis to (barely) get the independent TV station Channel 4 (WTTV). I grew up watching Janey, Cowboy Bob, Sammy Terry, and all the rest of the gloriously weird independent stuff they had.
  For you whippersnappers, it was a different time. The TV Guide often listen WTTV's content as 'movie' or 'show'; the local paper often said the exact same thing, darn it. So often the only way to learn what was on was to tune in. Even better, a lot of the late night programming (Sci-Fi Theater; Horror Theater, the Sammy Terry Show, etc.) might not freaking mention the name of the show, so if you missed the opening credits AND the end credits didn't give a name?
  Too bad.

  So one night when I was 12 years old I wrapped up a game of AD&D 1e in my Seaward campaign (I think it was part of the 9 month long Pirates arc) and sat down to watch TV. It was Saturday night and my sisters were asleep and my parents were in their bedroom reading and talking.
 

  I can't wait until my wife and I get our sitting area in our room back

  I came in right after the credit, darn it, and started 5-6 minutes in, max.
  It was gripping! A man being released from a mental institution during WWII; a carnival with a secret; villagers acting creepy and telling the protagonist (just out of the asylum, remember) that they are NOT acting creepy; a cake people will kill for; a blind man who isn't blind.
  I was hooked!
  I was about 20 minutes into the film (yes, all that was the opening) when - the power went out. Someone had hit a power pole and we lost power for 3 hours.

  I searched TV Guide ("movie") and the local paper ("thriller"). I asked my parents, even teachers. No one recognized it. I started going to the library to look up films and discovered film theory and film history. My dad got me a copy of the Golden Turkey Awards. I started going to film festivals, etc. It wasn't long before it stopped being about That Film and about film in general.
  Even years later when I was able to name the lead actor (Ray Milland) I wasn't sure which film it was because, well, synopsis were very rare and unclear and Milland was in a lot of films that weren't on VHS. When I was on Usenet and heard about The List which had become the Cardiff Internet Movie Database. I found a forum, learned two things; the CIDB was about to change and become the IMDB and the movie I had caught a glimpse of was Ministry of Fear.
  I was eventually able to see the entire film (and I encourage you to do the same!) and it is still one of my favorites.
  In the meantime that loss of power was my gateway to cinema and my love of movies to this day.

Champions: Flashback to Granite

  I got a copy of the Champions RPG for my birthday in 1983 and I am forced to admit I read it once and put it down.
  The shame I feel about this is tempered by the fact that at the time I was still in high school as well as working a job 20-40 hours a week, running two different AD&D 1e campaigns, playing in a Traveller campaign, and trying to make my girlfriends happy. Regardless of how much the single read-through impressed me, though, I didn't do anything with Champions for years.
  Flash forward to the Autumn of 1985: I have finished Army Basic and have reported to the Defense Language Institute. I have struck up great friendships with my classmates already. And a guy in a different class invites some of us to a game of Champions he had started.
  Williams' game was a ton of fun. He had us start on a 200 base/100 disads point build and if we could explain why the active point caps could be flexible. he also let us all make characters, play them for 3 sessions, and then re-write or replace them. Before long Chuck, Brian, Gregg, and I had a team we called the Victory Squad or the Victorians, we never really agreed.

  Those first groups we are in are very influential. I remember the first session of D&D I played and the first party I DM'ed for still influences how I GM everything to this day. The amazingly creative, fun, and nuanced characters from that first, year-long campaign meant a lot to how I see and approach the superhero genre, and I would like to share some of that.

  This flashback is to Chuck's character, Granite. I am recreating him in the newest version of Champions (HERO system, 6th edition) as I remember him when he was a new character and using the point allocation from my own campaign. I am beginning with Granite because he was my favorite character concept from the campaign - I was a bit annoyed with myself for not being as creative as Chuck!

  Granite
  Background/History: In his civilian identity Granite is a prominent geologist with a number of well regarded papers on his CV. He makes his living with a mixture of teaching positions and consulting jobs.
  While it is known he did not always have super powers the time and manner in which he gained them is a bit mysterious; he asked he gives vague, sometimes contradictory, responses and ignores any further discussions. Mutant scanners do no register him and there are hints his powers may be mystical.
  Personality/Motivation: Granite is the personification of 'cool in a crisis'. A good friend with a dry sense of humor in battle he is invariably cool, calculating, and focused.
  He is a staunch foe of crime and injustice and will sometimes focus his attention on those whom he thinks takes advantage of children or the poor.
  Quote: "Perhaps you should cool down."
  Powers/Tactics: Granite can transform himself into living stone, greatly enhancing his toughness and strength. While in his stone form he can also increase his size, further enhancing his strength and toughness. He can also travel through rock, stone, and earth at high speed.
  Granite is a brick, but a smart one. He will take advantage of his growth powers to attack foes that felt they were out of combat due to distance or to 'crowd' enemies, reducing their room to maneuver. His ability to see through dirt and rock and his tunneling ability give him a great deal of mobility on the battlefield and few things are as surprising as a fist striking from a wall of solid granite.
  Appearance: Granite looks like a living statue of black granite ranging from 6'6" to 13' tall and weighing between 1,750 lbs and 7 tons. In his normal form he is a well-dressed Black man of 6' 2".

  As you can see, at full size Granite will have a 12d6 punch and a very impressive PD34/ED34.

  Granite was a tremendous resource for the team and a really good scout. But, oddly enough, he wasn't the top brick!

  Next time  the Strongest Man in the World.