Heh, I can see it now; 8 players taking a break from wives, kids and dogs one weekend, having spent the morning rolling up characters, or breaking out their old beloved alterna-personae;
GM; "Okay, you laid into the orcs with some heavy firepower. Your dice were good, but, this is Moria, and if you recall the Jackson films, well, there were upwards of thousands of CGI nasties."
Players; "Dude, Jackson's not canon."
GM; "Yeah, but it's my game, and I like the visual reference. Okay, you're at the bridge, and you're hearing goblins scrambling all over the place as a set of thundering footfalls approaches in the dark--shaking the ground and stone floor upon which you stand."
Players; "Pfffft, some giant down here? Give me a break."
GM; "You guys really haven't been reading Tolkien or watching the movie lately."
Players come to a realization; "What, ... wait ... no way!"
GM; "To quote Wayne and Garth; 'Way!'"
Players; "Okay, it'll take a few more rounds, but we got the firepower. Take positions! Find some cover! Some of us go prone, using the bipod and a belt feeder. Fresh batteries and needles for the gauss gunner. Dude with LASER carbine will spot for us. Fusion gunner will set right down in the things path. ACRs with high-tech 203s and an autoshottie at the ready."
GM; "Hmm, you sure you wanna do that?"
Players protest and say "awe come on...we've all ready the stats in that Dragon article."
GM; skeptical, "Well, okay, if you want. In the distance the creature manifests itself as flame and shadow, with huge leathen wings, an energy whip of some kind, and hell fire coming out of its eyes and mouth, with two forward swept horns."
Players; "Target modifiers?"
GM; "Well, he's big, he's generating light, and he's the only lighting up the place other than the odd torch here and there, and that mysterious moon like light that always seems to be every movie even though there's no way sun nor moon light can get through miles of rock...so...it's like hitting the side of a starship or a building. Positive modifiers."
Players; "Let him have it!" (obligatory machine gun and LASER sound effects from grown men as dice are rolled with gleeful smiles) "HO BABY! We blew the living *%&# out of that mothuah-%&$^%*! Woooo!!! And according to the Dragon article the Balrog only has this kind of armor and this many hit points."
GM "You see your rounds pelt the Balrog, and you rock its world as little flecks of magma or flame eek out of its thick black hide with each bullet strike. The laser sears across his skin. And the fusion round blows a massive hole the drips molten tissue.
Players; (elated, with more whoops and cheers). "Dragon articles rock!"
GM; "Ah, but sadly, we're using the new official fantasy Traveller module published just last week by Mark Miller himself, where there's a whole section on 'molten creatures of the underworld'. Needless to say the Balrog scowls and gives you a 'you're making me mad' kind of look" :devil: