Steven E. Schend and unreleased MSH materials

Whatever happened to Steve Schend? I spoke with him several times when I called and bugged The Mail Order Hobby Shop when TSR still was around. I remember several times that they put me through to him, and he was very cool - put up with a kid on the phone asking him a bunch of stupid questions. Sent me a Murderworld! adventure free, and hooked me up on some out-of-print/backordered stuff.

Also, maybe you can answer this: Steve told me about a 2099 Sourcebox that was all ready to go, but release was being postponed until a contract between Marvel and TSR got extended. This never happened, and supposedly the material got consigned to the shredder?

Obviously, TSR/Wizards (man, I wish it was still TSR...things just seemed cooler then...) can't officially release it, but it would be hella cool to get my hands on it. Marvel's 2099 stuff was my favorite comic stuff - I've got nearly everything 2099 that ever made it to print (and a lot of stuff that didn't, thanks to Joey Cavalieri and Evan Skolnick (2099 Editors). I got SOOOO pissed that the 2099 MSH stuff didn't get released.

You or anyone else have any other unreleased MSH stuff that you'd like to share with us? :):):)

Also, any idea on William Tracy?

Had some questions for him regarding an adventure module he wrote for Dragon Magazine issue #104 (Sudden Dawn starring the Liberty Legion - the magazine has no stats for the Liberty Legion, and either I'm blind, or there's no reference in the thing on where to find them...).

Thanks!!

Yeah I would like to see what Doom2099 stats are like it's the only one of the 2099 I really read. Spiderman2099 somewhat but not too much.



" I kill where I wish and none dare resist. I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today. "

SOMEBODY MUST KNOW!

Here's what I got from a random site a while back (that site's no longer up though):
Doom 2099
Fighting: Incredible
Agility: Remarkable
Strength: Remarkable
Endurance: Incredible
Reason: Amazing
Intuition: Incredible
Psyche: Amazing
Health: 120
Karma: 140
Resources: Amazing
Popularity: varies (-10 to 40)
Known Powers:
Armor: It has a cybermesh coat beneath that works with nanites to increase fighting and agility. He also has the innate ability at Good rank, to cyberlink with any electronic machines, including his armor. Thus he reacts faster (+1 to initiative) the following powers apply.
* Body Armor: Adamantium Lanxide of Unearthly (100) material strength and protection.
* Force Bolts: Monstrous (75) rank force bolts at a 10-area range.
* Shields: energy shields that grant Monstrous (75) resistance to Physical and Energy attacks. It has a radius of 8 feet and he can absorb energy through the shield and re-channel it at his opponents. He can absorb and distribute a total of 50 points of energy per round.
* Enhanced Senses: Infrared, Optical, and Parabolic hearing are at Remarkable (30) rank. He can also record events for the Unearthly (100) ability to recall anything he is exposed to or experiences.
* Life Support: Incredible (40) ability to survive in the ocean and space, Remarkable (30) ability to adjust to temperature extremes.
* Phase Shifter: He can phase out. While phased he is immune to physical and energy attacks, but not psionics or magic. He can pass through items with Unearthly (100) ability, and fly at Feeble (02) speed.
* Computer Link: His mind was rewired to allow better interfaces with nanites and other machines. He can link with electronics with Cyberlink hardware at Excellent (20) ability, and with his armor automatically. He can also use this ability to enter cyberspace.
Magic Wielder: Remarkable (30) rank, it is assumed that he retains these abilities.
*Personal: Eldritch Shield Remarkable (30) rank.
*Universal: Crimson Bands of Cytorrak Remarkable (30) rank, and Eldritch Bolts Amazing (50) rank.
* Dimensional: Summoning Good (10) rank.
Regeneration: Excellent (20) rank, due to the nanites in his blood stream he can recover from nearly any wound that does not kill him. The side effects of these nanites are increased fighting, agility, and the ability to directly interface with his armor.
Equipment:
Computer Viral Disinfectant: Protects him from viral computer signals with Excellent (20) ability.
Electromagnetic Pulse: An electrical blast that does Incredible (40) damage and requires an Endurance FEAT roll to remain conscious.
Talents: Electronics, Robotics, Engineering, physics, weapons/ energy systems, spacecraft technology, superhuman physiology, mystical background
Contacts: Dr. Strange (Strange's Mentor), Doom's Black Cabinet, Fortune, Vox, Miguel O'Hara, Wire (Deceased)

As far as Spiderman 2099, if you're interested:
Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O'Hara)
Fighting: Mn75
Agility: Am50
Strength: In40
Endurance: In40
Reason: Rm30
Intuition: In40
Psyche: In40
Health- 205
Karma- 110
Resources- GD
Popularity- 40
Powers:
Combat Sense: Am50
Wall Crawling: Am50
Venom-can inject EX stunning venom witch last 1-3rds
Heightened Sight - After the genetic rearrangement, Miguel acquired the ability to see clearly within the range of his sight. When using this ability, however, his eyes turn completely white.
Claws: In40. These tiny claws extend from the bottom of Miguel's fingertips, the outside of his forearms, and the balls of his feet. He uses the claws for wall crawling mainly, but does use them for attacking. When used for attack, they do Gd10 edged damage, and have In40 material strength.
Webbing - Miguel, like a real spider, has spinnerets in his forearms that make webbing. The webbing is of Mn75 strength and is spun from the top of Miguel's arm. The webbing has a range of 3 areas.
Equipment:
Air Foil - Ex20 Spider-Man 2099 has a web foil on the back of his shoulders that he uses to glide from building to building. This can also be used to break falls.
Suit - Spider-Man's suit is made from unstable molecules, allowing him to use his powers in the suit. It also takes damage without worry of wear and tear
Talents: Chemistry, Physics, Business, Genetics

Wow spidey had Mn fighting, I know I didn't read many of the issues but was he really that badass?
I like the Doom and I think I am gonna use that one.



" I kill where I wish and none dare resist. I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today. "

I'd put a couple corrections there...

First, he seems a bit TOO powerful, but that's just my opinion.

Next, he had no claws on his forearms.

He had no "tiny claws" whatsoever. Each toe and finger had a retractable talon on it, and they weren't very tiny. If they were popped, you could tell it by looking at his hand.

The talons would automatically retract (instinctually) if he touched himself. This was discovered when he first got the powers - in the middle of the night, he was shredding his sheets/bed, but when he touched any part of his body, the talons would retract (natural safety device).

He now has control over them, and can pop them or retract them at will. It should be noted that unless his gloves and socks/shoes are made of unstable molecules, when he pops his talons, he's gonna shred them.

Also, the air-foil on his back is not made of webbing - it's not a "web-foil".

It's made of the remants of a hang-glider parasail that he used to clothe himself immediately after gaining his powers. I forget what they call the cloth (light-something, or something-light), but he somehow bonded that cloth to the unstable molecule fabric of the costume. It allows him to "fall with style", but not really fly.

I suppose if he got a really nice updraft, he could do gain some altitude, but Spider-Man ain't about flying...

I would point out (and this is just a nit-picking description @#$%&), he does not, like a real spider, have spinnerets in his forearms. Miggy has spinnerets in his forearms, real spiders have them in the butt/surrounding area (the abdomen?). This was noted in the comic - Miguel is/was a geneticist, and mentioned how he was an amalgam of a human and a spider - the human genes were dominant, since he was originally a human. The spider-genes adapted to his body. Since he's a bipedal creature, and doesn't do things like a spider, it wouldn't have made genetic sence to put the spinnerets in his cheeks.

One thing to note about his spinnerets - if someone were to grab his forearm and squeeze (like a cop trying to apprehend him, and dragging him by his forearm), a FEAT should be rolled to prevent him from shooting out a wad of web. Depending on the pressure of the squeeze on the spinnerets, the FEAT should be harder - this was an issue in a couple of books - a cop grabbed him, and he gooshed up the cops face accidentally, and had to run. Luckily the cop doesn't remember what he looked like (had his back turned when the cop grabbed him).

When I said I thought that the character was too powerful, I'm thinking of his FASERIP scores, but I suppose part of this counters that he doesn't have any big nasty blasting powers...I dunno. He has the proportionate strength of a spider, so his strength should probably match whatever Peter Parker has. I think his fighting should be a notch or two below Peter - Pete's been doing this for a while, and Mig's been at it for a year or two, if that.

His venom duration seems a bit week. 1-3 rounds is 6-18 seconds. It does Paralysis, and lasts quite a while, depending on how long he injects the venom. He bit a cyborg chick, and took her down for several minutes (and she's not even fully human - she's got mechanics to augment her that aren't affected by the venom!). I'd think if he bit a normal human and injected the venom, they'd be down for a good deal of time - potentially out of the fight?

Of course, this is just my observance of the comics - adjust to your own desires.

I just can't see a Mn. fighting for this guy, i would put him down a few ranks, I mean hell at that rank he is a better hand to hand skill then Capt. America, Wolverine, Daredevil, and the real Spiderman. All these guys are veteran characters who have either trained for years or have fought for years and still don't have a fighting that high. I would say Rm. maybe In but that would be pushing it. Unless I missed something in his history that would explain higher, but to my knowledge he was just a Geneticist, until he got his powers.



" I kill where I wish and none dare resist. I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today. "

Steve Schend is after my time with TSR, so I can't help you much there aside from this like to his entry on PEN & PAPER--
[www.pen-paper.net]

William Tracy overlaps with me on some multi-author works but we never met that I recall.
[www.pen-paper.net]

Here's what I have for 2099 on my site, all done by other people. This Spidey writeup also has MN Fighting, which not really knowing much about the comic I'd still say is wrong. At the top is a link to Ghost Rider 2099 stats and at the bottom I have X-Men 2099.

[rivendell.fortunecity.com]



MSH Classic RPG System
[rivendell.fortunecity.com]

I just posted what I'd found on a site with some 2099 characters. Having never been that fond of Spider-Man 2099 personally, I didn't bother to see about fine-tuning his stats.....
Personally, if I were to use him, I'd give him Excellent Fighting, which I consider pretty good for a lab-jockey. As far as his other FASE stats, I'd make him equivalent to Peter Parker's stats (Amazing Agility, Incredible Strength and Incredible Endurance, IIRC). As far as his powers go, I only read a couple of the comics myself and couldn't even begin to vouch for accuracy of any sort....
I know, I should have included that in my original post, but it was late and the caffeine drip ran out...

Yeah I only read a few Spidey 2099 issues myself, and I agree i would give him str, end, and agl. as Parker but Mn. fighting, I just don't see it.



" I kill where I wish and none dare resist. I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today. "