Gothic Earth 1998 - Reader Additions

[High Priest Mikhal]

Nothing has been mentioned yet beyond the mention of the harnessing of the atom. For the most part Alexander's too skeptical to believe the USA or the USSR would dare push the Big Red Button. The two know firsthand the power of the bomb and are rightly terrified. After the fall of communism is when things begin to make him nervous; nuclear secrets and materials in the hands of less educated, more fanatical groups that have no idea what they'd unleash. The IDEA of nuclear Armageddon was more prevalent during the Cold War, but the REALITY is greater after the fall of the Soviets and the leaks in their nuclear programs. That's what he'll hit on in future entries.

[Tykus]

I still like the idea of alien abductions and the Ghostbusters idea is not too bad for creative ideas. You might want to look at several animateds (anime and American) and movies inspired by such. You strip away the cartoonishness of "The Mask" (the Jim Carrey movie) and you have a decent horror story (and this was originally the idea the movie studio higher-ups wanted, the next Freddy or Jason.

[High Priest Mikhal]

On anime' I'm about a thousand steps ahead of...pretty much everyone I know. I don't just collect anime', I don't just like anime', I live for it!! I got into the hobby at the ripe age of two--yes, two-years-old--and I've never looked back. Back when it was more quality than quantity, when it was worth getting up at 5:30 AM to record Sailor Moon on FOX, when even one lousy anime' movie at a video store was like finding gold, and even when Pokemon was still something only anime' purists like me were into. Now we've got heavily commercialized, overly-done crap that I had to move farther into the fringes to stay ahead of the masses.

Sorry. The proliferation of bad, faux-anime' is a pet peeve of mine.

The Mask is probably based on Friday the 13th lore that Jason's power is in his mask. There was even a novel about a picked on kid who finds it during a school field trip and gets..."bloody revenge" on his tormentors (and that was youth reading!). If I could get a half-consistent timeline for Splatterhouse I'd be all over that like Oprah on a ham (and yes, I am more than familiar with the West Mansion and other fansites).

As for the Ghostbusters, I'm toying with forming them after 2000. Again the proliferation of the supernatural after the Millennium Rebellion makes it more feasible. Of course most people don't notice because of crap like sleazy tabloids and reality shows. The same thing that distract so many from serious issues like war, soaring oil prices, and natural disasters that could destroy the American way of life.

As for aliens...I think I'll leave that one be for now. Next to religion and politics, UFOs and extraterrestrials are a touchy subject for some.

[Tykus]

.As for the Ghostbusters, I'm toying with forming them after 2000. Again the proliferation of the supernatural after the Millennium Rebellion makes it more feasible. Of course most people don't notice because of crap like sleazy tabloids and reality shows. The same thing that distract so many from serious issues like war, soaring oil prices, and natural disasters that could destroy the American way of life.

As for aliens...I think I'll leave that one be for now. Next to religion and politics, UFOs and extraterrestrials are a touchy subject for some.

I didn't get into anime until by teens (it was the eighties after all and my folks didn't have cable). I will honestly say I found Akira dull and boring (redundant I know). I try treat anime (and even "faux" anime) as I try to treat movies: It must entertain me regardless how stupid the plot.

You're in luck as far as GBs are concerned. Last year, I saw a revamped Ghostbusters comic (not without humor but considerably a more serious comic book) at my FLGS (kudos if you know that). The one thing that sticks in my mind when I glanced through it was the ending. The main human villian was doing an exposition/warning to Ray Stantz that there had always been ghostbusters throughout history (the assorted witch doctors and shamans) but the various ghosts, spectres, and demons of power were genuinely afraid of the current batch because of the speed of which they could neutralize spirits; whereas spells and lengthy rituals were needed, the science approach was way too fast for their liking. Other than that, the short-lived Extreme Ghostbusters cartoon was good for ideas. Wikipedia has synopsis lists for both shows (I was toying with some villian ideas for my own campaign).

[High Priest Mikhal]

I've never look for comics at my game store (yes, I know what FLGS means). I'm sure they have them, but as I'm saving my disposable income for Alone in the Dark (the PC remake; here's hoping it's good) it might be a week or two before I can buy a copy. Still this sounds like a damn good version! Especially for Gothic Earth (where spells and rituals take even longer than in other settings) where tech can bring the edge that humanity so needs.

I'm also more than familiar with both "The Real Ghostbusters" and "The Extreme Ghostbusters" cartoons. The former I grew up watching and the latter was the only thing on TV before I had to go to school (yuck!) during my early teens.

[Isabella]

Anyone brought up the Kennedy Curse yet? The cause of it could be near anything, but they sure do seem unlucky sometimes.

(Though if it takes place in 1998, John F. Kennedy Jr. won't have died in his private plane crash yet.)

[High Priest Mikhal]

Never thought about that. I've heard the stories on the History Channel, and it seems that the family was "cursed" from before WWII. On Gothic Earth it likely started with Joseph, Sr., who challenged the then-predominantly Protestant Boston business world. When it became clear that they couldn't get rid of him one of them probably cursed Joseph and his family. That this curse would ripple outward as it has is fitting of what a curse would be. That's the power of hate, folks. Fear it, loathe it, avoid it.

[Tykus]

Speaking of curses, since 2 major league baseball teams managed to break their respective curses (in consecutive years, no less), how about touching on the Cubs curse (more for the humor angle)?

[High Priest Mikhal]

I might mention the Cubs and Yankees because of their supposed curses, but I've never been a fan of sports and they'll get a blurb at best when the years come up (well, maybe I'll play with them a bit for grins). For now I'm actually busy pre-writing the final 1999 entry and re-writing both compilations to better fit with what I wanted them to be (and to fix all the glaring mistakes). It may be a couple of days before I post again.

[Tykus]

Take your time. Your stories are distracting me from writing mine.

[MadStepDad]

it seems that the family was "cursed" from before WWII. On Gothic Earth it likely started with Joseph, Sr., who challenged the then-predominantly Protestant Boston business world. When it became clear that they couldn't get rid of him one of them probably cursed Joseph and his family. That this curse would ripple outward as it has is fitting of what a curse would be. That's the power of hate, folks. Fear it, loathe it, avoid it.

As a native Bostonion (Broken City is 30 minutes south of the bean) allow me to throw my hat in here.

Odds are, the curse is related in some way to Big Joe's backdoor dealings during the prohibition era. That bootlegging money is what put the Kennedys on the map to begin with. From all accounts, Joe was a bombastic, crass, ignorant, racist big mouth who pushed his boys beyond all realms of political concern. Which is why it was even funnier (not "ha ha" funny) when he was rendered mute in later years by a stroke. The Dark Powers will always prevail.

JFKs death has something to do with Giancana and his crime family, who - along with Frank Sinatra - basically got JFK elected for the presidency (they say in Chicago dead men voted - twice). When he turned his back on the men who put him up, they did him in. Same goes for RFK who was in no way supposed to target the mob like he did during his own presidential run. Not to mention the whole Marilyn Monroe conspiracy and you've got enough RED DEATH conspiracy theories to run an entire campaign.

peace,

MSD

[High Priest Mikhal]

Yikes. There's more to this story than I ever imagined! But as I've said before, I'm just not that interested in the curse or the Kennedy's. If anyone else wants to pursue this, please don't hold back.