A Tip of the Hat to the Original

[Ebony]

A micro-Step might be a brief encounter with Dr. Harold Shea, Ph.D., and his lovely wife, Belephebe. Or perhaps Dr. Shea's mentor, Dr. Reed Chalmers and his lovely wife, Florimel. Both characters are from "The Compleat [sic] Enchanter" by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (later stories by Christopher Stasheff), and are the original cross-literature fiction. Shea and Chalmers, being people of the 50s-60s, would recognize the concept of "comic heroes" and probably find Doug fascinating from a psychological point of view (both of them are psychiatrists). Their method of travelling between universes is conceptual (i.e., if they believe they're in a universe logically, they can perceive it and be transported there), and might be able to give Doug some tips on controlling his steps. Or send him spinning off in the completely wrong direction.
Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Bob Schroeck]

Mm. Now that's an idea. I devoured the Harold Shea stories when I was in college, years ago. That might a whole lot of fun.
Hmm. Is Sprague deCamp still alive? I can't remember. If he is, I wonder if he'd remember me... it's been a long time since we last met... I wonder if he'd consider a collaboration...

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Ebony]

Sadly, he passed away on November 6, 2000. Two days after my birthday. I never met the man, but his work has always been some of my favorite classic sci-fi and fantasy.
Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[offsides]

I have a great story I heard about him at PhilCon years ago, involving a drunk Middie, a bunch of SCAdians and a thoroughly pissed of Admiral/GOH... I'll have to write it up if people are interested
Offsides
Drunkard's Walk Forum Moderator and Prereader At Large

[Ace Dreamer]

I do wonder what Doug would do if someone handed him a deck of cards, told him they were a "syllogismobile", and let you travel between universes, without any need for high tech or magic...
Just got out my copy of "The Enchanter Completed" (Sphere Books, 1980), which has got a bit on the history of the stories, and L. Sprague De Camp. He sounds pretty impressive, and would have been 93 if he died in 2000. From the sounds of it he was also a wargamer! Care to bet he would have been a roleplayer? [grin]
The "Fallible Fiend" was still one of the best fantasy books I read for a very long time, and his collections of shorts were pretty good, though I found his (SF) novels rather ho hum.
If you want a _really_ fun cross over, Harold Shea (or maybe his son???), in Heinlein's "Number of the Beast" transfictional multiverse could be fun! [grin] After all, someone should rescue "Friday" from the second half of that novel!
Just a few thoughts... [grin] (Hope I am not being too obscure...)
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Bob Schroeck]

Not too obscure at all. I made a similar reference to "Number of the Beast" myself over in the currently active DW-Eva thread... And that's the same volume of Shea that I read lo these many years ago. Shea in "Friday"? I think Shea is entirely too 1950s male to survive in a later Heinlein universe...

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Ace Dreamer]

> Not too obscure at all. I made a similar reference to "Number of the Beast" myself over
> in the currently active DW-Eva thread... And that's the same volume of Shea that I read lo these
> many years ago. Shea in "Friday"? I think Shea is entirely too 1950s male to survive in a later
> Heinlein universe...
I thought that general Heinlein references might be a bit too obscure...
Shea as an early 20thC male might find later Heinlein too much (mind you "Stranger in a Strange Land" would probable boggle him as well !).
This is one reason for suggesting "Shea, the Next Generation", and I thought Doug and him trying to get Friday out of the terrible mess the second half of the novel was (which, I've heard suggested, was supposed to be the terminus of the "I Will Fear No Evil" storryline), might be a fun idea.
I would like to see Doug in a really high tech world, far higher tech than BGC or NGE, and see how he gets on.
I might even suggest "Five Star Stories" (particularly if you want _really_ big mecha), or even "Fight! Iczer One", maybe allowing such lines as "Summon Iczer Loony!", as a _really_ big Loony Tunes mecha steps out of its dimensional holding bay! (If Iczer Two can have a giant mecha called Iczer Sigma, I don't see why Doug can't have one called Iczer Loony! [grin])
Of course, Doug will then have to find someone to emote for him to power his mecha, as he wont have his own Nagisa. ("Everyone should have their own Nagisa!", a quote from Iczer Two, in an RPG that I once ran. [grin])
Doug meets the Cutawolf... Hmm...
Probably best to take this too another topic???
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Bob Schroeck]

Possibly... mind you, I've only seen a little bit of the original Iczer, and none of the followups.
I also don't see Doug as a giant robot kind of guy. In fact, in the tiny little bit of a hint of a Sakura Wars Step I have written, Doug looks at a koubu and basically says, "It's very ingenious, very nice, but you'll never get me in one of those things." It's kind of anathema to his nature -- it's like putting Spiderman in a suit of full field plate.
As for Shea/Friday etc., I'll think about it. I'm still struggling with Ch 13 of DW2, though...

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[classicdrogn]

---

it's like putting Spiderman in a suit of full field plate.

---

I have that issue! I'd list the title and issue, but it's in a box under the eaves. I bought the toy, too, because the Spider-Armor was just too keen to resist, even if they did just go with metalised plastic for the silver bits instead of proper chrome plating. I don't even remember what vilain he used it against, but I think he abandoned it again after Electro kicked his webbed butt because it turned him into a Spider-Lightning-Rod.
On the other hand, I freely admit that it was the kind of bonehead marketing maneuver that gave us the Spider-Clones, Onslaught, and Tony Stark as the past-self of Kang the Conqueror. Putting Doug in a giant robot might not be as ridiculous as selling SSJ Goku toys with a hoverbike and bazooka, but it's not all that for behind. Maybe if he ended up on Cybertron during one of the periods that it was solidly under Decpticon rule, and it would then serve as a combination disguise and life support unit - though the cartoon tended to ignore it whenever it was inconveinient, the TF homeworld's atmosphere is suposedly only barely in the range where humans can survive unaided for more than a few hours, between the pollution of ... well, either eight or twelve, depending on the source ... *billion* years of fairly constant warfare, and even that is somewhat mysterious given its lack of plant life to free oxygen. (My memory is hazy on how old the universe is, but ISTR it's only about 10bill, so if the Cybertronian Civil Wars have been going on for twelve, that means they're extrauniversal... probably along with the the rest of the machine life that shows up in the continuity.)
- CD

[Ace Dreamer]

> Possibly... mind you, I've only seen a little bit of the original Iczer, and none of the followups.
I recomend seeing all of the original "Fight! Iczer One" as least once, assuming you don't object to anime with quite a bit of horror in it. "Cutawolf" is supposed to be mis-spelt "Cthulhu", BTW! From what I saw of the followups, "Iczer Three" was reasonably fun, but "Iczelion" was just another magical girls show.
> I also don't see Doug as a giant robot kind of guy. In fact, in the tiny little bit of a hint of a Sakura
> Wars Step I have written, Doug looks at a koubu and basically says, "It's very ingenious, very
> nice, but you'll never get me in one of those things." It's kind of anathema to his nature -- it's like
> putting Spiderman in a suit of full field plate.
I didn't say I that I saw Doug as being _competent_ in a mecha! [grin]
I just thought that he would find it fun as a way to upset people who took the whole giant robotic suit thing too far! After all, _you_ get to choose what "Iczer Loony" looks like (cross between "Wily E. Coyote" and "Buggs Bunny", or even "I Am Weasel" ???). I also thought a mecha might have a much bigger radius chaos field, which might be fun... And, a guest appearance by the mecha in a later Step might be fun (e.g. large hand comes out of nowhere, grabs a falling Doug, puts him gently on the ground, he wakes up, "What!?!").
My knowledge of Sakura Wars is limitted to seeing the trailers, some SW fanfic, and UF...
> As for Shea/Friday etc., I'll think about it. I'm still struggling with Ch 13 of DW2, though...
I think most people would agree that DW2:13 is higher priority!
If wanted to really mix things up, have Shea (the Younger) having been through an anime world before, and picked up an energetic blonde lady by the name of "Excel"...
(I would restrict her to three "resets" though, being a long, long, way from her home reality!)
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Bob Schroeck]

---

I recomend seeing all of the original "Fight! Iczer One" as least once, assuming you don't object to anime with quite a bit of horror in it.

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Horror's not my bag, and we saw quite enough of the original Iczer by that measure.

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"Cutawolf" is supposed to be mis-spelt "Cthulhu", BTW!

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I've seen it as "Cthuwulf" more often, to tell the truth.

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I didn't say I that I saw Doug as being _competent_ in a mecha!

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If Doug can't do it with style, flair and a minimum level of competence, he ain't a-doin' it.
Seriously, Doug's homeworld has its share of mecha, and he knows that the best way to get yourself seriously injured or killed is to try to operate one without the proper skill and training

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I just thought that he would find it fun as a way to upset people who took the whole giant robotic suit thing too far!

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Sorry, no, it's just not him. Cute, funny ideas, though. Just not for him.

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My knowledge of Sakura Wars is limitted to seeing the trailers, some SW fanfic, and UF...

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Highly recommended. Trust me. Find it if you can. My local Blockbuster stocks Sakura Wars -- yours might, too.

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If wanted to really mix things up, have Shea (the Younger) having been through an anime world before, and picked up an energetic blonde lady by the name of "Excel"...

---

I don't think you could get Excel to leave any world with Ilpalazzo in it even with a crowbar. (And by that, I mean hitting her over the head with it, and then dragging her off.) Hyatt I could see possibly wandering off on a cross-dimensional expedition, but Excel wouldn't want to leave her Lord and Master.

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Bob Schroeck]

---

I have that issue! I'd list the title and issue, but it's in a box under the eaves. I bought the toy, too, because the Spider-Armor was just too keen to resist, even if they did just go with metalised plastic for the silver bits instead of proper chrome plating. I don't even remember what vilain he used it against, but I think he abandoned it again after Electro kicked his webbed butt because it turned him into a Spider-Lightning-Rod.

---

Oh dear god. I was not aware that he'd actually worn something like that. I was just trying to come up with the worst combination of hero and armor I could.

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Ace Dreamer]

> > I recomend seeing all of the original "Fight! Iczer One" as least once, assuming you
> > don't object to anime with quite a bit of horror in it.
>
> Horror's not my bag, and we saw quite enough of the original Iczer by that measure.
I am not a fan of horror, it being a genre I mostly avoid, but I found that there was something about "Fight! Iczer One" which appealed, even so. Maybe it was the heroism of the characters, even against almost totally overwhealming odds, or the way Iczer was ultimately willing to give up her soul mate (literally...).
Most horror has a depressing ending. The bad guys win, and it is only going to get worse. Brian Lumley ("Necroscope", etc) is one of the few exceptions that I have found, writing "heroic" horror, and has even written things based in the Cthulhu Mythos which are heroic ("Spawn of the Wind", ISTR), and I believe worth reading.
> > If wanted to really mix things up, have Shea (the Younger) having been through an
> > anime world before, and picked up an energetic blonde lady by the name of
> > "Excel"...
>
> I don't think you could get Excel to leave any world with Ilpalazzo in it even with a crowbar. (And
> by that, I mean hitting her over the head with it, and then dragging her off.) Hyatt I could see
> possibly wandering off on a cross-dimensional expedition, but Excel wouldn't want to leave her
> Lord and Master.
Enough things went wrong around Shea and co for this not to be a problem. All you need is a magical backlash (you are going to tell me magic is _reliable_ in the Excel Saga??? [grin]) to have Shea and Excel blown off world together, or them trying to track down her Lord, who left world earlier due to similar problems (you don't think he would be tempted to experiment with Shea's deck of cards? [grin]). Also, Excel might go with Shea if ordered to.
Of course, with the two of them gone, this leaves Hyatt to try and run ACROSS on her own! [grin] Maybe with help of other dimensionally displaced people Shea had picked up, and left behind there... (Choose your poison!)
I am not suggesting you write anything about Shea in Excel's world, but he could make a few remarks that would send shudders down people's spines! [grin]
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Ace Dreamer]

> > I have that issue! I'd list the title and issue, but it's in a box under the eaves. I bought
> > the toy, too, because the Spider-Armor was just too keen to resist, even if they did
> > just go with metalised plastic for the silver bits instead of proper chrome plating. I
> > don't even remember what vilain he used it against, but I think he abandoned it again
> > after Electro kicked his webbed butt because it turned him into a
> > Spider-Lightning-Rod.
>
> Oh dear god. I was not aware that he'd actually worn something like that. I was just trying to come
> up with the worst combination of hero and armor I could.
[grin]
Daredevil would be even worse, as he is probably not as tough, and doesn't have Spider Sense!
They have done just about everything to Spidey over the years...
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Bluemage]

---

it's like putting Spiderman in a suit of full field plate

---

That's ridiculous! It's obvious that Spiderman need a good suit of (enchanted) Elven Chainmail- something lighter, more flexible, and suited to his strengths.
On the same vein, if Doug ever got into a mechaverse, what he'd need would be a Cyclone or, maybe, Garland (bikes that transform into power armor, for those lacking in mecha lore). Power armor would allow him to use his skills without the interference controls: instead of intent-to-controls-to-action, he'd have intent-to-action, same as without the armor. Doug already has a bike, so the adjustment on that end would be easier, and with a transforming bike, there's no worries about where to leave it during fights!
Just a thought.Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines...

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[classicdrogn]

I rather expect that a M.O.S.P.E.A.D.A. subjected to Doug's improbabability field would either fail spectacularly, or become sapient. Why? Because just turning into a brick or acting normal/getting accidentally enchanted isn't funny, while bursting into a hail of foil streamers, candy, and a Loony like some kind of oversized metal pinata or a bike complaining because it can't transform unless he's there in the link suit would at least be good for a giggle. I really think his combat ability is probably above that of a spam-can armor anyway - what ws the slang term he used on learning of the Knight Sabers? Crunchies? Mechanics? Something like that - implying he's dealt with power armor before and not been terribly impressed, and in a supers setting, where you have the likes of Iron Man or SHIELD Hulkbuster armor, a Garland is severely underwhelming, let alone a mere M.O.S.P.E.A.D.A. unit.
- CDSERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
A kung-fu nun in a leather thong was no less extreme than anything else he had seen that day. - Rev. Dark's IST: Holy Sea World
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bluemage]

Improbability field... dang, I *forgot* about that! Thanks for catching that- you're right!
As for combat ability, is Doug tougher/better/reliably able to best full-size mecha? No: the bike was an idea for how to incorporate the Loon's combat abilities into an enhancement that would allow him to combat (albeit at a disadvantage) such beasties. That's what I was thinking- too bad it doesn't work.Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines...

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My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[WengFook]

I was just imagining Doug fully encased by the cyclone, power armor all over and he pops open the chest missiles and all that come out are party streamers. Oh sure, long streams of silly string and confetti too
nope we cannot see Doug in mecha at all too many things can go wrong :o
_______________________________
We are the swords in the darkness, the watchers on the walls. The fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn. The horn that wakes the sleepers. The shield that guards the realms of men. -The Brothers Black
_________________________________
Take Your Candle, Go Light Your World.

[Bob Schroeck]

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nope we cannot see Doug in mecha at all too many things can go wrong :o

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Hmm. Better change what I have in mind for the effect from the Battle Hymn of the Hanagumi, then...
-- Bob
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...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...