The Griffin's Guide to Proper Powering.
The Griffin of London has recently released an e-book about what to do if someone wants to be any good as a power. He's priced it as "Pay What You Want" but suggests a token payment of £5. Below is the intro and a sampler...
This book is for educational and informational purposes only. The author of this book bears no responsibility for the consequences of using or misusing any information gained from reading this book and they do not support or condone committing an illegal act.
Some or most of the contents of this book may seem obvious to you, but please remember that this entire guide is written under the assumption that you
honestly do not know much about how to be a power who wants to help other people and similarly, that you honestly want to learn how to be any good at it. With this book, I seek to bring practical advice without any subtext that might trip a newcomer up.
This edition focuses on Great Britain, but it also has information that is useful in North America. Editions for various regions and languages are being planned.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior express permission of the publisher.
That said, if you’re doing it for personal use, feel free. That is not only allowed, I support and respect those of you who do so.
For those working at a copy shop, this means the person standing at your counter who wants this PDF printed does indeed have "express permission" from the author to get a copy of this document printed out.
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If you have
any of these books or documents, please read them frequently:
The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Even though it was written in ancient China during the Three Kingdoms period, this book is quite rightly considered to still be relevant today.
Current Personal Flight Charts for the areas you operate in. These are the charts designed for powers who can either fly unaided or with a very small vehicle like a man-sized battle-suit or an enchanted broomstick. Most major bookshops will have them, especially those at airports, seaports and at any major railway station. These will let you know where you can and cannot fly over.
Any recent military field manuals pertaining to anything you specialise in, post-Merge editions when possible. Most United States military field manuals are actually very easy to come by online and they're usually free and legal to download if they're not classified.
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If you have any of these items, make sure you take them with you and become very familiar in their use. And when I say very familiar, I mean familiar enough that you can reliably use them in a high-stress situation like rescue or combat.
Headlamp/Headtorch. The sort you strap to your head to keep your hands free, not the sort you fix to a car. Get a headlamp that also has red LEDs if possible. That way, it preserves the night vision available to a normal human eye. If you have vision that allows for it, try to get a second headlamp with infrared (IR), low-light or ultra-violet (UV) bulbs/LEDs. Being able to use the light while other people cannot is an advantage that simply cannot be overemphasised. The conventional lights are best used for reading details, rescue missions or for use as a distress signal. After all, you
WANT distress and rescue signals to be seen by as many people as possible!
Safety Notice 1: ALWAYS ASSUME A DISTRESS SIGNAL TO BE GENUINE! You might be the only chance for whoever's sending the signal to get out alive, so you MUST help! NEVER hesitate or stop to think, they do NOT have the time for it!
Safety Notice 2: NEVER SEND A FALSE DISTRESS SIGNAL! These waste effort and resources that could be used to deal with actual emergencies. Also, someone with a reputation for sending false distress signals will likely not be believed in the event that they need to send a GENUINE signal!
Swiss Army Knife/Multitool. You never know when this will come in handy. In Great Britain, it is the only knife you can legally carry outside your place of residence without having a specific lawful purpose in mind or an Unusual Weapon Licence. Most other places will allow the public possession of Swiss army knives so long as you don't do something stupid like get the blade out without an actual need to do so, but please consult your local weapon laws first. Do
NOT get it engraved!
Two-Way Radio. This will save money on cell/mobile phone calls for internal communication when you do not have or want a telepath on your team. Unlike mobiles, the radios will still work even when you're both underground or high up a mountain! The basics of radio etiquette will be discussed further on in this book. Learn them before using a radio. It is advisable to develop a code with your teammates in case of other people listening in to your communications. Do not get a radio that requires a licence to use! PMR446 radios are licence-free in Britain and the European Union. Family Radio Service equipment in the Americas is also licence-free. Citizen Band (CB) radios are usually licence-free as well. CB frequencies vary from country to country so make sure to get handsets and base stations that are legal for use where you live.
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Natural Disasters:
Earthquakes: If you are caught in an earthquake, what you should do depends on if you're indoors or outdoors. If you are indoors,
IMMEDIATELY get under a table, desk or bench (if you have any of those nearby) and hold on to one of the legs. If you're outdoors, lie down on your stomach. Make sure to protect your neck and base of your skull, see picture below. It is preferable to get under a bench if at all possible if you are caught outdoors, but you must stay away from trees and buildings as these could fall on you.
Do not go under vehicles as these might be moved by the earthquake, if not by whoever's driving them.
If you find yourself on a staircase when you get an earthquake warning, you must head to the nearest floor and seek cover as mentioned above.
Fliers caught outside should
IMMEDIATELY get airborne once they get warning of an earthquake.
If you are already airborne, it is advisable to remain in the air as long as you can. If you must land during an earthquake, try to land on a wide open field and then lie down as shown above.
If you're in a land vehicle, the driver must stop at once, turn the engine off and apply the handbrake. Do not get out or move until the danger has passed.
Cyclone/Hurricane/Tornado/Tropical Storm/Whirlwind: Get indoors, preferably underground, as soon as possible.
Fliers must land and do the same. Do not leave your shelter or take flight until after it has passed.
Tsunami: When you receive a tsunami warning, stay away from the ocean and any rivers. Make your way inland, preferably uphill if possible. If you can get airborne by yourself, do so at once!
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Weapons:
The first thing I must say to weapon-users is this:
You must NEVER draw, ready or aim your weapon unless you are actually going to use it. Everyone around you will automatically assume that a drawn, readied or aimed weapon is going to be used and they will get ready to use their weapons and/or powers on you if they have any.
The second thing I must say is to
always remember to perform periodic weapon maintenance. If your weapon's falling apart, the only person who is getting hurt with it is
YOU! In the event you have to pass a weapon to someone, passing it in the manner shown below will show that you do not mean them any harm. (Below are various diagrams showing how to pass a weapon to someone without intending them any harm.)
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Do not harm or threaten anyone who is not posing an immediate threat to yourself or others. Even if they
ARE dangerous, attacking or threatening someone who is not being an immediate threat to another will likely make them
BECOME a threat when you would prefer that they do something harmless instead. And if other powers or the police see you doing it, the situation will likely escalate faster than you can handle it.
Help any bystanders to get out of danger as your first priority. Yes, this
does include when doing so would allow whoever endangered them to get away.
You do not want innocent blood on your hands! Endangering civilians by abandoning them to chase whoever endangered them will make it a lot harder for anyone to listen to you or otherwise believe you.
NEVER HARM A CHILD! Harming a child can profoundly affect their development in a negative manner and runs the very high risk of them becoming a danger to others. Doing so also leaves a lot of people with no other choice but to
ACT to protect the child or to see justice done for such a foul act. It will also cause irreparable damage to any credibility, legitimacy or positive reputation you may have once had. Prison sentences in practically every country on Earth will become much harsher if it can be proven that your committing the offence in question directly or indirectly harmed a child, and the stigma of being the sort of person who would harm an innocent will
ALWAYS be with you,
even in the eyes of the law! I repeat:
NEVER HARM A CHILD!