"Welcome to the Party, Pal!"

Welcome to the first issue of "The F Word", my little section in the all-new Clobberin' Times Online. The greatest Champions APA ever created (could just be my opinion, but I'm sticking by it) is back, and it's time to get geeky all over again. Great to be here, guys.

Every issue of the "F" will start with this intro, and will be sort of a summary of the current issue's contents. Plus, I'll maybe have a little rant or two, talking about one thing or another. Let's start with the contents, and move on...

This Time Around

This being the first issue, we'll have some intro stuff. First off, you'll notice some links up on the right. This'll stay a stable part of the zine, with info on me, on Forte, on the 'Times, and a list of links of note. There's also a handy contact button that'll let you e-mail me. If you're a member of the Clobberin' Times, and, as such, a member of the 'Times Yahoo Group, you'll be able to post your "mailing comments" on the board and make comments or ask questions of me regarding the stuff here. If you're not, and you happened upon this another way, I'd love to hear from you. Drop me an e-mail and let me know what you think. We'll rap. It'll be real.

First, there's an essay called "I Heart Forte", where I talk about the greatest Champions campaign ever created (the EGO on this guy...), the one called "Forte", and why I'm still so into it that I'm dedicated a whole zine to continuing its legacy.

Second, I've got a new page up called "Forte '05", a collection of Forte character fiction that takes place in the current year. My reasons for needing to tell these stories are explained in the page intro called "How I Froze the Forte Universe", but in short, the ongoing campaign timeline needed to be brought up to speed, and this seemed a fun and creative way to do it. Plus, there are some stories I'm just really dying to tell, and I wanted a chance to explore and revisit come of these characters I love so much, and see what they're up to right now. They're meant to be "short" stories (if you've read some of my stuff in the past, you know I have a different definition of that word than most people), just little moments instead of big plotted out stories, but it all depends on where my fancy goes (and how much time I have). I hope to keep adding stories to the list all year long.

"Good Girls and Bad Guys" is a Dr. Jackal/Knightsabre story...but really, a story about the whole Parker family. The need to look in on them came when I recently realized that Jack and Sabrina's daughters turn 15 this year, and I needed to deal with some issues there, see how the family has changed, and introduce the quickly-growing-up Monique and Nikki as characters all their own instead of just "the kids". Had fun. There's a little twist ending that also had to happen sooner or later, so I wanted to finally got to that.

"You're a Good Man, Andy Clayton", a Nightsable/Shrike story, also came from the realization that Andy Clayton is a teenager, too. It was a good chance to see all the Forte kids in one room, but I really wanted to focus on Andy (the former Forte member who joined the team when thrown back from the future, only to die during the campaign and then later get "born again") and the issues he's dealing with. It also gave me a chance to focus on Nightsable, the other-Earth Parker daughter (and current Forte 2000 member), and some of her own issues. And out of it came this really unique connection between the two characters that I really enjoyed. Hope you do, too.

"The Jennifer Coda", a Telesis/Twostep story, is one that has needed to be told for a long time. Twostep was one of my characters in the campaign, but he left suddenly (when I had to leave the game), and his big overall story never got to be finished. It continued in the print version of the Clobberin' Times, in a series of stories called "Pharaoh", following what happened to Nathaniel Pharaoh (Twostep) after he left Forte. That story never completed, either...but the campaign timeline rolled on, thanks to Con games and such, and the story I was building for him had to end in there somewhere. During a Con game a while back, I had to let the others players know that, by the way, Twostep is dead, and you were all at his funeral. Never got around to telling them exactly what happened to him. Telesis was Jeff's last character in the regular Forte campaign, and he, too, left the campaign in a big hurry. But K.C. "NPC'd" his character in the game, and closed her out in a multi-issue story called "The Jennifer Chase". At the end of it, Telesis went into something like a witness protection life, along with her young son, and was retired from the game. Telesis, thanks to Jeff linking her origin to Twostep's (she was on the run from her Texas mob husband, Joshua Bane, Twostep's brother), her story become intrinsically tied to his. I couldn't tell Twostep's whole story without her in it. As a result, she became involved in the Pharaoh storyline in a tale called "The Jennifer Sanction" (actually a novella started by me and Forte's Randy Auer that never got finished...but that story became part of the Pharaoh timeline). So here were two former Forte characters, bound together, both without a proper closure to them. This story is that closure, for both, and tells, finally, the tale of Twostep's fate. My apologies to Jeff for taking liberties with his character, but she became an NPC before I ever started playing with her. And I hope he, and the rest of you, will be satisfied with her swansong in this final tale in the "Jennifer Trilogy".

And as you can see, there's something coming up called "Action Figures", a Phantasm/Dash story. It's already partially written, but didn't get done for this issue. This is a BIG part of the Forte continuity that's been begging to be revisited. One brother, a Forte founder. The other, a Forte member gone bad that tried to destroy the world, only to end up in a vegetative state. What goes around comes around in Forte. So stay tuned to see what happens in this long-awaited reunion.

Plus, there's FINALLY an update to the Forte 2000 site! If you're new to this, here's the Forte 2000 thing in a nutshell. I got this idea a while back. Forte was a team no more after the campaign ended. The heroes would still get together for the Con games and save the universe every summer, but there was no hero team running around Seattle anymore. But what if there was? The question I asked of the other founding Forte players (made up of me, Tim Watts, Kaye Bellot and Jeff Baumgardner) was this: What if we were all, by some great manifestation of destiny or coincidence, back in the same city again (by this time we were kind of spread all over the country)? What if we started gaming again, and K.C. decided to start up Forte again...the same team name, the same city, but all new characters? What character would you make?

This started as just a fun exercise, but soon became a fiction project, part of the Forte timeline, and even, for a while, an actual game. It started with the first four characters. But when it looked like an actual game was going to start with those of us in California, it was a game that needed more players....since just Kaye and I of the original four were close enough to be involved. My roommate and long-time 'Timer and short-time Forte player Aaron Storck made a character to play...as did Ben, former 'Timer, former Forte player, and now husband to Kaye...and Kevin, former 'Timer and Forte player (who had three characters in the original Forte game). The idea was that the original foursome had been together for a while, and, just like with the first Forte game, new characters showed up along the way and joined the team. These were GREAT characters, all, and gaming runs and more fiction came from them all. And the place that collected it all was the Forte 2000 web page I created.

It's been, I'm sad to say, two-and-a-half years since I updated the site, though things were going on along the way (some stories written that never got put up, a couple more game sessions, etc). But now that the 'Times is back, it seemed the perfect time to get the new Forte incarnation rocking again.

From me, there are write-ups for the games. Forte 2000 #141 is the online session we ran after our first live game, and Forte 2000 #142 is the summary of the Con game we ran in 2003, one guest-starring old-school Forte members (and one Armor Security member, too!). For #141, there's both the summary AND the actual transcript of the game, which is a fun read. I also added a new piece of fiction called "Four's Company"...just my urge to write something in the style of a "Three's Company" episode (oh, those wacky misunderstandings!) with Seahawk and Tinker, set on Seahawk's boat. I think it turned out pretty fun.

I've also added a piece of Nightsable art I got done by an artist named Storn A. Cook. You might recognize his stuff from the covers of some of the Hero System books. Check it out (the little art link on the Nightsable page), and if you like what you see, you might consider getting something from him yourself. He does color work relatively cheap. Check out his site for details.

There's also new stuff from Aaron and Kaye, but I won't get into that here because that's THEIR 'Times submissions. But just go to the "News" page on the Forte 2K site to get a breakdown of all the new stuff added.

And in case you didn't notice the domain name, Forte now FINALLY has its own proper home on the web. I got my hands on ForteUniverse.com, and it will be the place to find all Forte stuff in the future. Right now the index page is just a directory for the Forte pages, but I plan to add a LOT more as time goes by, so stay tuned.

That's all my contributions for this time around (gee, is that ALL?). Wanted to start off with a bang, since this is the first issue and all. Wouldn't expect this much bulk every issue (go ahead, let out the sigh of relief...)

Who the "F" is This Guy?

Oh, and in case you're not an old 'Timer and DON'T know me, I'm Michael O'Connell. Check the "About the Author" link for some details. Basically, I was one of the founding members of the Clobberin' Times back in '88, and was the Central Mailer (The Head Nerd In Charge) for that APA for a couple of years, too. I was also one of the founding players in K.C. Ryan's Forte game, and was in it from '87 to '93. I've been playing Champions since high school (notice how many bios start with that?), starting out with my pal Tim Watts...that would be 'Times founder Tim Watts (tm). Fresh out of high school we met K.C. and started playing in his Paragons game, which led to Forte about a year and half later. I've played in a lot of games...mostly short-termers, K.C.'s games being the exception...and I've run my share, from campaigns to Con games.

I just love Champions. I love super-heroes. Been a comic reader for years (and a comic writer now...), and Champions was just a fantastic way to create and live out those grand four-color adventures. I played some other games along the way, but Champions is the only one that ever really mattered, and still does. I love that our old pal and 'Times member Steve Long took a crazy chance and took over Hero Games and kept Champions going, not an easy task in the age of X-Box, believe me. Champions is about storytelling and imagination and epic adventure, something you just can't get out of a console game.

I live in Sacramento, California, and I work in the insurance business while I pursue creative endeavors and independent publishing on the side.

Why Here, Why Now?

Yeah, the 'Times is back, and it's been a long time coming. I was one of the big proponents of taking our beloved APA online, back when the print version was finally winding down, but the time just wasn't right then. I think it, and all of us, needed to step back and take a break for a while.

But I couldn't be happier that it's back. Why? Because I really need this right now.

Stephen King once described writing as the act of teaching the mind to misbehave. There's a lot of truth in that. All of us who were in the 'Times back when it started are NOT youngsters anymore. We have jobs and careers, some of us have families, all of us are "adults". Super-heroes and roleplaying games and fantastical fiction? NOT the realm of adults. These are things for the kids. We, the "grown-ups", are beyond such things. We have responsibilities. Goals. Standards of lifestyle and behavior. Maybe gaming was something understandable back in college, but now, that's all just so much silliness. Grown-ups don't play Champions.

Right?

When I look back on those years in the 'Times--and when I was gaming--I see some of the best times of my life. I'm not just talking about the act of gaming. I'm talking about the unbridled creative energy. Man, those of us in the 'Times? We ROCKED that sucker. We cranked out stories and art and fed off each other, regularly putting out issues that numbered in the hundreds of pages. And there was some great stuff! I loved reading other people's submissions, letting them fire me up for ideas of my own. It was a blast. And I was damned happy.

Since then? Life got complicated. For all of us. All part of growing up and moving on. There are bills to pay. Promotions to work toward. Mortgages. Car payments. Relationships. For some, getting the kids to school and to bed and back to school. Free time has become a luxury. Free time to spend on things just for the sheer creative fun of it? Almost impossible, it seems.

But I've found that I missed this. A lot. I've been working, creatively. I started the Nice Guy comic with Tim, and that's been great and a blast, for sure. But that, too, becomes a job. There are deadlines, and finances to be considered. Marketing, scheduling appearances, planning convention trips. All great, don't get me wrong. But while it's creative work and fulfilling? It's not done just for the sheer fun of it.

It's not misbehaving.

Starting this 'Times thing up again, and getting a submission together, has reminded me how much I miss this, and how much I need this. I was at my best, creatively, when I was working on the 'Times, surrounded by other creative people and doing it all just for the simple joy and love of it. I've fallen into a long period of creative stagnation (a few months of heavy overtime contributed a lot to that). And already, just getting ready for this first issue? I'm putting in more writing time than I have in couple of years. One of the greatest walls in writing is that empty screen, that sinking feeling of thinking you've forgotten how--or lost the ability to--actually fill that screen and finish something. You start to wonder if you'll ever be able to again. Just sitting down and cranking out some Forte stories and building some web pages had recharged my batteries. For the first time in a while, I'm feeling like a writer again, and that's giving me the juice I need to keep cranking on the Nice Guy, and other projects (like maybe actually finishing a screenplay one of these days). An old writing adage says that to be a writer you need to be writing, all the time...doesn't matter what, just as long as you keep writing. Thanks to this...I'm really writing again.

It's helping me with that, and, perhaps as important, it's giving me a vacation. A mental vacation. Living for your job is, in my opinion, no way to live. Oh, job and career are important, don't get me wrong. I'm sure happy to have mine. But you've got to balance work with play, no matter how old you are. For some people, that means playing golf or renting movies. For people like us--the creative people, the writers, the storytellers--that means letting your imagination go wild and take you to other worlds. It means realizing that just because you're a grown-up doesn't mean you can't love great stories, great characters, epic adventure and high drama. I've needed this outlet for a long time, and already, I'm so glad to have it back. Already I feel like a weight has been lifted, like a void has been filled that I didn't really realize had emptied.

Damned if I'm not a 'Timer again.

It's good to be back. It's good to be home.

It's good to see you guys again.

Next Time...On "The 'F' Word"...

Okay, that's it for now. In the coming issues, I have plans for more Forte world stuff that I hope you'll like. More Forte and Forte 2000 stories, yes. But also some stuff like the forthcoming "Paragons" web page...my creation (with the assistance of Kevin Jones, former Paragon and Forte playa) of the new modern incarnation of the classic Earth K.C. hero team that was the precursor to Forte. Plus, I'm starting the process of working on something I call "The Forte Project"...that is, to actually get all the material from the Forte campaign (issue write-ups, old fiction, art, etc) online for everyone to share, so I hope I'll be able to throw bits of that at you along the way. And hey, I may even venture away from Forte from time to time...like finally getting the web page up for the APEX campaign with the help of former 'Times and APEX guru Aaron Storck, and getting back to work on "Windjammer" for the ConTinuum project and "Tag & Dream Girl, Freelance Heroes" for Omniverse. We'll see where my fancy takes me. So stay tuned, and I'll see you (woo hoo!) in the 'Times.

Michael O'Connell

The H.N.I.C. Once More...