Wonder Comics - pt. 2

Shorty Shortcake is probably of the fighter class, but outsmarts his opponents instead of fighting them as much as possible. In Supplement II, I talked about awarding a big XP bonus for finishing a scenario without resorting to violence.

This is Shorty's...girlfriend? Suzy wants help finding Shorty, but instead of going to the police, she seeks out a wealthy philanthropist. Are you really looking to find Shorty, Suzy, or are you just looking to move up while Shorty is out of the picture?

There's nothing wrong with heroes asking for help from non-hero characters -- so long as it makes sense to do so -- and it provides opportunity to recruit supporting cast members.

Also, does kleptomaniac need to be a new mobster type? A Lawful thief with a pick pockets skill?

This is Patty O'Day. Her scenario is to get on a boat, take pictures, and get off the boat. I don't think her player needed to roll a single die for this scenario and the only reason I mention it at all is...that fellow on the boat looks suspiciously like Quality Comics' Black X. Could this be an unofficial crossover?

Dan Barrister is the fighter and Dr. Fung, although a "master sleuth", seems more like his scientist partner.

The locale is interesting -- a rock cliff surrounding a lost oasis in the Gobi Desert, the oasis filled with a petrified forest, and a crumbling fortress/monastery.

And then there's the dart rifle - a silent weapon with the range of a rifle (but probably reduced damage, maybe 1d6-1?).

More hideout. I like the dry moat, drawbridge, the really high wall walk (20'? More?), the "misshapen flagstones of the foliage-covered court", the narrow, barred windows, and the audience chamber with its 10' high throne dais and gong -- just sumptuous detail for a hideout crawl.

It's time to discuss -- no, not how tall Dan's head is in that third panel, but what the "half humans"/"monster men" are.  They talk, they only look like ugly people, but on the previous page Li Wang explained that he they had no minds of their own. I suspect these would be statted as zombies (hi-tech zombies).

Dr. Fung seems to have a new ability for the scientist class, though one I maybe should have thought of sooner myself -- the ability to wreck labs.

Li Wang creates an explosive twice as powerful as anything else...because mad scientists love having super-volatile stuff around them for kicks.

"Spark" Stevens of the Navy is another pre-Batman feature by Bob Kane. That a U.S. destroyer is captured by mobsters makes the heinous hideouts feature in The Trophy Case v. 2 #9 that much more believable.

I've tackled the subject of throwing a man into a group of other men to hurt them all before. I believe, last time, I said H&H would not support such unfair tactics. But did I remember the "combat machine" ability of fighters?  Maybe Chuck is really fifth level and attacking all five less-than-one-hit-die opponents all at once?

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus)