Guardians: Bruiser's Handbook

Guardians, the best OSR superhero roleplaying game, has been in need of a book of NPC's. Creating superhero characters can be a tedious process, with lots of little numbers and details to fiddle with. Even with a system as simple and straightforward as Guardians it can take some time.

As an added bonus we wrote up 100 plot hooks, many of them featuring a Bruiser, but they are really designed for any supervillains the Referee wants to throw at the party.

The book was written by my friend Wahab who has been working in the indie comics field for a while, his most well known title being the Society of Unordinary Young Ladies, a fun homage to the great after school sitcoms of the 80's.

The stats were written up by Andrew Warren who is very active in the Superhero RPG community.

Eventually I'd like to have a book of NPC's for each of the basic classes: Bruisers, Gadgeteers, Power Users, and Super-Agents. We'll see how well this book does first.

Check it out:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/440696/Guardians-Bruisers-Handbook

Basic Character Sheet - With a Bit of Norse

Inspired by the best and most iconic character sheet TSR ever made, here is a version with Norse patterns and very slight adjustments for that modern old-school play.

In classic mint, goldenrod, and printer friendly white.

Under Saving Throws the "Average" field is to make the sheet compatible with Swords & Wizardry's single Save system. You can average the numbers together for a single stat. I talked a bit more about Saving Throws here: https://dungeoneering.blogspot.com/2021/08/potrp-design-diary-25.html 

Gunslinger - The Engineer

The Engineer class is finished. This class was inspired by John Carter's ill-fated prospecting companion James K. Powell.

You may recall I mentioned this class back in October of last year, while the basic write up was fairly straight forward, designing all their gadgets was quite a project.

If you are familiar with Warriors of the Red Planet you know the Scientist class has a suite of gadgets they have access to that get more powerful with each level. Likewise the Engineer is the Wild (wild) West equivalent.  To put it in classic fantasy RPG terms they fill the roll that a Magic User traditionally has. 

The gadget list is a little large at the moment, and perhaps a bit too powerful. It is as if you were to combine all the Magic User and Cleric class spells into one list, since that is kind of how gadgets work.

While the playtesters are letting me know what gadgets to keep on the list, I am deep in the Strange Science section, which is getting bigger than intended! The ideas won't stop coming. To continue with the fantasy RPG analogy they are a bit like what magic items are in that genre. So as you can imagine the possibilities are endless. 

I'm making great progress on Gunslinger. The RPG is well on track to be completed in June.

PotRP Design Diary #32 - Air Plant Keeper

Air Plant Keeper
Red Martian, 3rd level Scientist

Armor Class: 10
Hit Dice: 3/9hp
Move: 120'
Attacks: shortsword or pistol
Damage: 1d6 or 1d12
No. Appearing: 1-4
Save: S3
Morale: 5
Treasure Type: A
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
XP Value: 100

Str: 11 (+0), Dex: 10 (+0), Con: 10 (+0), Wis: 9 (+0), Int: 13 (+1), Chr: 9 (0)

Equipment: shortsword, pistol.

Air plant keepers are skilled in the operations of the great air generators that maintain the breathable atmosphere of Barsoom. They are dedicated to their job and will defend the plant from hostile forces that may harm it.

 

APoM Design Diary #20 - Gozava

Today I am starting up the A Princess of Mars Adventure Design Diary posts again. I worked with a  researcher to go through the source material and compile it all into game-useful data. Now I am referring to that data as I build out the adventure. Most of the development remaining is editing, art, and layout.

In this NPC update, Sola's mom Gozava, you can see an improved stat block which provides some useful game info for the GM to be able to quickly refer to. In the spirit of turning the adventure into a sandbox rather than a railroad Gozava's fate is yet to be decided, while in the book she was tortured to death. Perhaps the PC's save her from this cruel end?

Gozava
Green Martian, 1st level Fighting Man
Armor Class: 10 [10]
Hit Dice: 1/6hp
Move: 120'
Attacks:  2x weapon attack or tusks (2d4)
Damage: 1d6 or 1d12
Save: F1
Morale: 5
Alignment: Neutral Good
XP Value: 100
Str: 10 (+0), Dex: 10 (+0), Con: 10 (+0), Wis: 13 (+1), Int: 10 (+0), Chr: 12 (+1)
Equipment: 2x shortsword, irradium pistol, ammo belt, dagger, domestic tool kit, female leather harness, sleeping furs, food pouch.
Special Abilities: Beast ESP, Minor Telepathy ; SD: Mind Blank

A green martian female in the retinue of the cruel Tal Hajus. Too small to breed by tribal standards (only 10ft tall), she was forbidden to mate as dictated by Thark custom. Slowly this fostered an aversion to the awful cruelties and loveless existence of her people and helped her nurture a shy sympathy towards others. She cares little for the barbaric ways of the greenmen. 

Thus it was that over 5 years ago, she entered into a fateful tryst with the chieftain Tars Tarkas and each unwittingly fell in love with the other. Together they quietly bore a forbidden egg completely outside tribal law, the penalty for which is death. While he was away on a years-long military campaign, Gozava secretly hatched their hidden egg alone, begetting a daughter upon whom she lavished affection - an occurrence so rare among the greenmen as to be unheard of in living memory. 

Knowing she could not keep the child hidden for long, Goziva conspired to mix her in with the other tribal younglings from that year’s incubator expedition. Though initially successful, the ruse was later uncovered by the ever-vigilant Sarkoja, though the child’s identity remained unknown. 

Betrayed, now Gozava is to be brought before cruel Tal Hajus to answer for her crimes. Without hope for mercy, she will likely be subjected to unspeakable tortures to force a confession.

• Secret - Her forbidden lover is Tars Tarkas, himself a powerful chieftain, and their illicit daughter is Sola. Should this ever become known, all three of them will likely pay dearly.
• Goal - To be reunited with her daughter and lover Tars Tarkas, and if not take her secret to her grave. If forced under duress - to preserve the lives of those dearest to her - she will lie and say she killed her own infant daughter rather than leave her to the mercy of Tal Hajus. 
• Motivation - She abhors the cruelty of the green men and only wishes to live in peace.
• Conflict - Her softer sentiments are considered decadent - a reason to demand she prove her worthiness to the tribe. Her being in the retinue of Tal Hajus means the punishment for her ‘misdeeds’ will likely be that much more severe.
• Quirk - Enjoys walking alone into flowering hills to daydream of a better life.
• Flaw - Her love for her daughter can be used against her. 

Discussion thread here.

The Outlander

A US civil war veteran transported to mars, a kryptonian evacuated to earth, a college athlete accidentally rocketed to an alien planet. With strange super-human abilities manifested on their new world the Outlander is a classic trope and the topic of today's Dungeoneering.

Edgar Rice Burroughs arguably invented the super hero genre with his epic hero Captain John Carter of Virginia in the classic novel A Princess of Mars. Carter's adventures on Mars inspired generations of kids who would go on to become artists, writers, and even scientists like Carl Sagen, Isaac Asimov, Frank Frazetta, and Frank Herbert.

The concept that someone raised on a planet with certain conditions would exhibit unusual abilities when transported to a different planet with different conditions is a compelling one. Often explored in science fiction, the most common being someone from a heavier gravity being stronger. There is so much more potential in the concept. Here is the Outlander as a playable character race. Ideal for the Warriors of the Red Planet and Guardians roleplaying games:

Outlander Strangers of extraordinary ability from other worlds

When one who is born on another planet or dimension or from another time with different atmospherics, climate, knowledge, or gravity arrives on this world they inherently have unusual abilities far beyond what natives may have. On their world of origin they may have been little more than average, but on this world they are stronger, or can jump higher, or have incredible endurance, or even stranger abilities that seem superheroic. 

Despite their otherworldly origins, Outlanders adapt rapidly, being able to learn local customs and languages in a short time. Consequently, Outlanders may learn the local equivalent of Common within days of first hearing it, regardless of their Intelligence score. 

Many Outlanders find themselves looked upon with fascination as possible heroes or saviors, whose unexpected arrival means the status quo is about to change. Just as easily as they find allies, they are likely to encounter enemies in equal numbers.

Perhaps because journeys between worlds/times/dimensions are inherently hazardous, only the most resilient -- and fortunate -- Outlander survive. Members of this race gain a +4 bonus to saving throws. 

Owing to the unusual nature of their fighting styles, Outlanders gain a +1 bonus either to Armor Class or to hit and damage when fighting opponents unfamiliar with their ways. Which bonus the Outlander wishes to use must be declared before each combat begins and, should the opponent survive to face the character again, the bonus is nullified thereafter in the case of that particular foe.

Home World

These are just a few of the possible conditions of the Outlander’s home world and the abilities it confers to them on this world, choose one.

Heavier Gravity: Outlander is unusually strong, +1 Strength and can jump twice as high and far as normal.

Thinner Air: the Outlander has unusual endurance, +1 Constitution

Advanced Knowledge: the Outlander understands technology and can figure out strange gadgets or make their own with the proper time and resources, +1 Intelligence.

Aquatic: the Outlander is amphibious and can breath underwater and on land. And swim twice as fast as normal. They can hold their breath for unusually long periods, for no less than 2 hours plus their Constitution modifier.

Hotter: the Outlander from a hot world is nearly impervious to heat, taking half damage at most from fire or heat attacks, and usually being able to save for none.

Colder: the Outlander from a cold world is nearly impervious to cold, taking half damage at most from cold attacks, and usually being able to save for none. They are not susceptible to the further effects of cold, such as being frozen. 

Radiation: the Outlander was born on a planet with extremely high and unusual radiation. When they come to this world that lacks this radiation and bathed by the light of a different sun they gain unusual powers of flight, invulnerability, x-ray vision, even laser blasts from the eyes. As all of these combined are likely to unbalance a game, choose one of these options:

• Flight (24”) with high maneuverability

• Invulnerability: +2 natural AC, +2 hit points per level

• X-Ray vision: able to see through most solids as normal, the GM determines what blocks this vision, usually heavy metals like lead.

• Eye Lasers: roll to hit, inflicts 2-7 (1d6+1) damage. Can be used 3 times per day.

• Super breath: can exhale a powerful gust of wind, in 15’ cone, targets must make a Dexterity check or be blown back 25’ cone, targets must make a Dexterity check or be blown back 10’ and fall down prone. Can be used no more than once per hour and when not fatigued.

I started a discussion thread on the ODD74 Forum here: https://odd74.proboards.com/thread/14588/outlander-new-character-race

_______________

Inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs, American comics, and Robert Heinlein, and many other “Science Fantasy” books and movies. Loosely based on the Stranger by James Maliszewski http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/08/grognards-grimoire-stranger.html

Reinventing the Greyhawk Thief

  Coming into D&D in the early 80's with the red box set and then quickly onto AD&D I had no idea that there were some who'd been playing the game since its release in 1974 that considered the Thief class to have broken the game.

While I very much enjoy the original LBB (little brown books) that are so bare boned there was only 3 classes: Fighting-Man, Magic User, and Cleric. I find that Greyhawk really completes the original set.

There is general agreement that Greyhawk which introduced variable damage and hit dice, ability score bonuses and penalties, and a variety of other things really fixed the game. Yet the thief seems to have stolen some of the primary things players were doing on adventures that hadn't quite been systemized yet: sneaking around and stealing stuff.

The thief is a staple now of just about any fantasy roleplaying game. Enjoying a special niche all their own separate from the fighting ability and spellcasting ability of other classes.  There is however a problem with the thief that I haven't seen much written about. That is how bad they are at their character abilities.

A 1st level thief can pick pockets with a 20% chance of success. You know from actually playing one that is terrible, there is an 80% chance of getting caught! All those other things are so bad there is hardly a point in even trying until higher levels, 15% to open locks? 10% to remove traps? Oops! Triggered again, the party is dead. Yikes. What if we got rid of all that stuff and they were really good at one thing first. What if pick pockets started at a 60% chance of success? Now we're talking. Then it could improve at a slower rate and eventually become very proficient.

What if they slowly acquired the other abilities as they leveled up?  Then they would be in synch with the other classes. With this idea in mind here is a reimagined Greyhawk-style thief class. A note on terminology, a few things are changed to be more generalized; for example the general term pilfering instead of the specific term pick pockets. Or climb instead of climb walls.

Each level opens a new Thief Class Ability. Success is not determined by a percentage, an idea I find doesn't fit the rest of the mechanics of the game, but by an ability check. The GM could adjust the difficulty of the task up or down. If the victim is attentive and other leery viewers in the area a pilfering attempt may be more difficult. If the victim is asleep success may almost be assured with only a roll of 1 waking the target up and getting caught. The level of the character and dexterity adjustment may be added to the roll of a d20 for success.

Prime Attribute: Dexterity, 13+ (+5% XP)
Hit Dice: 1d4
Armor/Shield Permitted: Any non metal. No shield.
Weapons Permitted: Any one-handed.

Thief Class Abilities

Pilfer: at 1st level the thief can filch small objects, pick pockets, and palm small items without being noticed.

Open Locks: at 2nd level the thief can open any lock given enough time and with the right tools.

Hear Noise: at 3rd level the thief is sensitive to sounds others may not notice, and identify what they are or what someone who is speaking in a language they understand is saying.

Climb: at 4th level the thief can climb sheer surfaces including walls and cliffs.

Backstab: at 5th level the thief can deal double damage when striking an opponent from behind. At 7th level damage is x3. At 9th level damage is x4.

Disarm Traps: at 6th level the thief can render a trap inoperable given enough time and the right tools.

Move Silently: at 7th level the thief can move at half speed without making a detectable sound.

Hide in Shadows: at 8th level the thief can become near invisible when lurking in shadows, they may slowly crawl at a rate of 1”.

Read Languages: at 9th level the thief can read any language they may have reasonably come in contact with, including magic. This ability allows them to use magic-user scrolls, though with a high degree of error. Reading languages excludes lost, ancient, extremely foreign, or dead languages that would require special knowledge to know.

Thieves Guild: at 10th level the thief becomes the master of a local thieves guild in a fortified hideout, usually in a seedier part of town, that will attract 2-12 apprentices. This hideout is difficult to find and infiltrate. They will also have political influence with corrupt officials and powerful criminal elements.

Thoughts? Discussion here:

https://odd74.proboards.com/thread/14527/reinventing-greyhawk-thief

Making Sense of the OD&D Elf

Much has been said about the 1974 OD&D Elf, it is a bit of a strange class. On one adventure it is a Fighter on another it is a Magic-User, but it can't be both at the same time. It is awkward and somewhat unwieldy when running an OD&D game. How can we make a better version that also remains true to the integrity of the system? The core idea is you have a character with good fighting ability and some magic ability. Sounds a lot like a cleric, so perhaps it has similar spell progression. If you give an Elf the combat ability of a fighter and also spells there will need to be a balancing factor, so what if it had the experience progression of a Magic-User, and is limited to the 8th level? With this in mind we can give the Elf attacks and saves like a fighter full time.

How do you give level titles to an Elf? OD&D doesn't even address this. The authors of Basic simply smashed Fighter and Magic-User titles together and ended up with this:

1. Veteran-Medium
2. Warrior-Seer
3. Swordmaster-Conjuror
4. Hero Magician
5. Swashbuckler Sorceror
6. Superhero Necromancer
7. Lord Wizard
8. Lord Wizard 8th

These titles sound epic and compelling in a generic fantasy sense, who doesn't want to play a Superhero Necromancer! However, these titles don't really fit an Elf and are a bit strange. What can be done about that? Besides the obvious problem of race-as-class, which is only murkily suggested in OD&D and codified in Basic, level titles are always a bit awkward. And yet they unquestionably add flavor to vanilla fantasy. I don't have an answer yet, I'm still mulling it over. So for now Level Title is: Elf.

With all this in mind I present the 1974 OD&D Elf Class:

ELF
Elves are at once Fighting-Men and Magic-Users and thus they gain the benefits of both classes and may use both weaponry and spells. They may use magic armor and weapons usable by either Fighters or Magic-Users. They select spells from the Magic-User list.

Elves with a Dexterity of 14 or more reduce enemies' attack rolls by 1 per point of Dexterity over 14.

Elves are able to locate secret passages  and hidden doors on a roll of 1-4. They sense any secret door they pass, a 1 or a 2 indicating that they become aware that something is there. Elves have the ability of moving silently and are nearly invisible in their gray-green cloaks, reduce in half any chance anyone has of detecting the elf. Elves armed with magical weapons will add +1 to dice rolled to determine damage, i.e. when a hit is scored the possible number of damage points will be 2-7 per die.

Elves on foot may split-move and fire: move half their normal movement, fire an arrow, then move the balance of their normal movement. Mounted Elves may not split-move and fire, for they are not naturally adapted to horseback. Finally, Elves are able to speak the languages of Orcs, Hobgoblins, and Gnolls in addition to their own Elvish and the other usual tongues.

Alternate Combat System:

As for the Level Titles what can be done? I dunno. Adolescent, adult, village elder? Forest Warden. Nature protector? Orc slayer? Low elf, mid elf, high elf? There probably is a good approach. If I hear of one, I'll update this post.

fin.

Geiravor the Spear-Bearer

Here at the Denmark household we've been playing a Norse themed campaign with 5e D&D, of course giving it a little OSR flavor. This is in conjunction with a project that has been in development for a couple years; a Book of Valkyries. While some Valkyries are only mentioned by name research reveals a fascinating variety of details beyond just the evocative name for many mentioned in Norse Mythology.

In terms of a D&D campaign there is a lot of room for interpretation and extrapolation by digging deep into the lore. Here is my first attempt at doing a 5e style layout with one of the Valkyries; Geiravor the Spear-Bearer:

This Patreon is a place to get Norse Mythology inspired art as well as related gaming material.

5th Edition Character Sheet - Family Friendly II

I listened to your feedback on my previous character sheet post and added Skills and Passive Perception. Many sheets put the skills grouped with their Ability score, but I find it easier to look them up alphabetically.

Here is a full rez printable version:

5th Edition Character Sheet - Family Friendly Version

I've been playing the 5th edition with my kids and for the most part we're all enjoying it, but it really feels unnecessarily complicated in many ways. In particular character creation is excruciating. The idea is that most of the calculations and work is upfront so that during play things go much more smoothly.

We found the basic character sheet to be way too busy and hard to read. I made a version that removes much of the clutter and improves legibility. It doesn't have every single thing from 5th edition, but it does have everything you generally need while playing. Making this sheet a much more kid-friendly version. Here is a relatively high rez version you can download and print out for your own games:

Edit: yes, skills are missing. I'm an advocate for players solving problems through clever game play rather than relying on a die roll and a solution on their character sheet. There is room for indicating important skills in the abilities section. It says Ancestry instead of Race because we've been exploring genres other than fantasy. It says Life Saves rather than Death Saves because not only is it a more kid friendly term but it is more accurate as to what the game mechanic does; it saves your character's Life.

Old-School Character Sheet

I've been looking at a lot of character sheets lately, and had this idea for a layout based more on rows rather than columns like most character sheets are. It's not amazing or particularly innovative, but I like the legibility of reading ability scores across the rows rather than down columns. This also allowed for grouping all the essential combat stats across right below them.

Please feel free to download it and test it out. If I get some useful feedback I can make some modifications if called for.

Free Character Sheets! Guardians, Freebooters, and Raiders!

So I'm wrapping up 3 more free character sheets. I found myself fiddling with the Guardians sheet a lot, there are so many ways that the Gifts, Powers, Special Abilities, Limits, Issues, and Gadgets can be layed out on the sheet. Since this is a "Basic Character Sheet" series inspired by the very simple character sheet in the classic Moldvay Red Box D&D set I decided to leave it a bit more generic. If I get feedback on the sheets I can modify them or make more detailed forms. Perhaps even fillable PDF's in the future.

Here are links to the PDF's:

Guardians

Freebooters

Raiders!

Colonial Troopers Free Character Sheets!

In preparation for Kublacon I made several character sheets. For this one I went back and forth with Steve Perrin the author of Colonial Troopers to get this character sheet right. It is a balance between simplicity and all the information you need to play.

Here is a link to the free PDF:
COLONIAL TROOPERS CHARACTER SHEET

Warriors of the Red Planet Character Sheet

Kublacon is coming up Memorial day, that's next weekend May 26. I've been working on some character sheets for the various OSR games to give out to anyone who purchases games from me at the con.

This version is a modified one of an old Swords & Wizardry sheet I made long ago when I first started this blog. I'll be posting more to come.

Here is a link to the high res PDF version.

Raiders Preview: the Scientist class

Finding the right mix of player classes has proven to be one of the biggest challenges in designing Raiders. It isn't just a collection of random character types from the period, but classes that specifically work well together to maximize enjoyment at the gaming table. Players naturally gravitate to certain types. I personally find myself always picking that outlier class that no one else does, but that I think will help the party. For example a druid if I think outdoor survival is going to be an important part of the adventures. So that means providing the core classes you'd expect like a Treasure Hunter and Mercenary, but also some interesting other options.

The current mix of classes we are playtesting include a Scientist. Players of Warriors of the Red Planet will recognize this class. They are exceptionally useful in the time period, having a similar role as a magic-wielder does in traditional fantasy roleplaying games. My only concern is that it isn't 100% in fitting with the genre, its a little bit wacky and weird because it clearly falls under the category of "mad scientist", and that may not be what I want the game to evoke.

With that being said, here is the current state of the scientist class, and will likely be very close to the final printed form (if this class makes the final cut).

Scientist

Scientists rely on their high intelligence and extensive schooling, their brilliance in their chosen fields and the strange devices they can invent. They may be elderly scholars or two-fisted adventurers, absent-minded professors or grease-soaked engineers. Most scientists that would go on fool's-errand adventures are considered crackpots, or if particularly brilliant may be called a mad scientist. Their motivation may be to expand the frontiers of knowledge, but they may also be seeking validation.

Level	Title	XP	HD (d6)	BHB	ST	Gadgets (level)
1	Academic	0	1	+0	13	1/
2	-	2,500	2	+1	12	2/
3	Researcher	5,000	3	+2	11	2/1
4	-	10,000	4	+2	10	2/2
5	Maven	20,000	5	+3	9	2/2/1
6	-	40,000	6	+3	8	2/2/2
7	Maestro	80,000	7	+4	7	2/2/2/1
8	-	160,000	8	+4	6	2/2/2/2
9	Authority	320,000	9	+5	5	3/3/2/2
10	Genius	600,000	10	+6	4	3/3/3/2/1

Gadgets: Each Scientist possesses a suite of instruments, devices, and weapons, collectively known as Gadgets. The Scientist adds a new device to this suite each time he or she gains a level. A Scientist with an Intelligence of 13 or higher starts out with one additional 1st-level Gadget. Scientists may fill these slots with Gadgets acquired in play (from treasure troves or other scientists), but cannot have more Gadgets than slots.

Gadgets require power to operate. Unless otherwise noted in the Gadget’s description, each Gadget may be used once per day, and must be recharged before it will function again. Each Scientist possesses a portable power source (pack, battery, solar array, etc.) that will recharge any Gadget the Scientist possesses, once every 24 hours.

Lost or destroyed Gadgets may be replaced at a cost of $100 per level of the Gadget, while lost or destroyed power packs may be replaced at a cost of $100 per level of the Scientist.

A Scientist may use another Scientist’s Gadget (including any Gadgets that might be found in a trove) for a cost of two power pack charges, providing they are able to figure out how to use it (ST modified by Intelligence: Basic Ability Modifier).

A Scientist with high Intelligence may apply his or her Basic Ability Modifier to a Gadget that requires an attack or damage roll.

At higher levels, when a Scientist gets a higher level Gadget that is basically an improved version of a Gadget they already have, Referees may choose to allow them to swap out the inferior Gadget for another of the same level.

Next preview I'll show off some of these gadgets that have been designed for the game!