Another God for Umerica!

I haven't posted here in a while. As I've mentioned a few times, I'm a big fan of the Umerica setting for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. Here's another god for Umerica.

St. Pelvis

His origins are lost. Some say he was an impoverished lad from Misshipy, others a Pre-Cataclysm impressionist imbued with divine energy when the bombs fell. Another tale mentions that he was created by the Grays decades ago, from the DNA of an aged singer. Yet another origin story claims that St. Pelvis was a hill cat named "Billy" in his previous life. Whatever his origins, St. Pelvis is known as the walking incarnation of an iconic Pre-Cataclysm musician known as the “Rajah of Rock" The Rajah it's said was known to jiggle his hips as St. Pelvis does now, in rhythm with the music.

He appears in a spotless red, blue, and gold sequinned white jumpsuit and spotless white leather shoes. St. Pelvis's hair is styled in a perfect pompadour, and even in a strong wind, it stays unmoved. Across Umerica others might copy him, but there is only one perfect example of the "Rajah of Rock" His clerics and followers recognize a copy on sight, but the original inspires even nonbelievers. (Except, of course, followers of Kizz!) St. Pelvis is a generous and humble man. He is known for his intense love of family.

His followers have been called the Misshipy Mob after the area where he is said to have been born. The Rajah once said that he wasn't a saint, but St. Pelvis, now known, is a very kind and generous man. But St. Pelvis's rock and roll music inevitably sets up a conflict with the followers of Kizz, the mighty intergalactic god. But the saint seeks to avoid conflict and cultivate his followers, often among the elderly and downtrodden. St. Pelvis's music isn't as loud as Kizz or is his guitar flaming, but his music is considered to stand on its own. In addition, the followers of Technos Discos' are known to have a strong distaste for his music as well and consider it "old fashion." While worshipers of Classica find it in poor taste and prone to "corrupt the young." It's said that older residents of Umerica often remember St. Pelvis from the sacred images on black velvet. They often seek out Pre-Cataclysm velvet paintings of the saint at garage sales. Also, his followers seek the location of a shrine buried somewhere in the deserts of southwest Umerica called Vega. When a follow dies, a common saying is that "they've left the building" and gone to a more incredible place where he grants eternal life to them.

The Tenets of St. Pelvis
“Without a song, the day would never end.”
“It's alright, Mama, it's alright."
"A little less fight and open your heart.”
“Like rock music, feel it, and move to it.”
“Truth is like the sun.”

Special Rules
Cleric's of St. Pelvis receive a +1 to lay on hands checks made on downed allies. St. Pelvis was known for this ability to "come back" and granted this to his followers.

Weapons of Choice
Firearms, mainly when used to shoot screens.

Unholy Creatures
undead, demons, devils, cathode-ray golems, chaotic creatures.

St. Pelvis's holy animal is a hound dog.

Peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwiches are considered sacred meals among his worshipers. A devout follower of St. Pelvis who eats one gains one hp.
This action can be done once per day.

Don't be cruel to a heart that's true.
St. Pelvis commands his followers to be compassionate to each other and love music. A thoughtful, well-meaning song written by a worshiper has considerable value and acts of kindness and self-sacrifice.



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Three for Umerica

Haven't posted in a while! I'm a big fan of the Umerica setting for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG.

Here's two new monsters, a god, and a new artifact for the Umerica setting I created. Comments welcome!

Orginal artwork by artist Nate Marcel who did the cover for the Umerican Survival Guide among others. And many thanks to Daniel J. Bishop for the creature comments!


Fire Aunt

It is said that after Petrolex emerged in the StarState a large group of elderly technophobic women who dressed in centuries old Urth clothing, refused to use fuel or drive motor vehicles and scorned the followers of the mighty God of Fuel and Fire.

So vast was their scorn that it’s said that they once condemned a priest of Petrolex to death for riding his red sports car into their settlement. (The noise scared their farm animals.) So, the God of Fuel and Fire in a fit of rage cursed the women into undead and flame. So, the undead women either as individuals or as swarms wander the Southern parts of Umerica burning and killing as they see fit. Areas where there are large numbers of beast of burden and cars are favorite objects of theirs.

The pile of tattered clothes and bones abruptly stirs, rising up to take on a human shape and explodes into red-orange flame. Its elongated, bony fingers reach out to scratch at the living, blazing with unceasing fire.

Fire aunt: Init +0; Atk claw +1 melee (1d3); AC 10; Armor die 1d3; HD 2d6; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP un-dead, fiery aspect, fiery doom, nasty harangue, half damage from piercing and slashing weapons; SV Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +3; AL C.

Fiery aspect: Creatures adjacent to a fire aunt take 1d5 points of fire damage at the start of their turn. Anyone striking a burning skeleton with an unarmed strike or natural attack takes 1d6 points of fire damage.

Fiery doom: A fire aunt explodes into a burst of flame when it dies. Anyone adjacent to the fire aunt when it is destroyed takes 1d5 points of fire damage. A Reflex save (DC 8) halves this damage.

Nasty harangue: A fire aunt uses its voice to cause one or more creatures to become furious with it. Each creature to be harangued must be within 90 feet, able to see, hear, and understand the fire aunt, and capable of paying attention to it. The fire aunt must also be able to see the creatures affected. Each creature within range receives a Will save (DC 8) to negate the effect. If a creature’s saving throw succeeds, the fire aunt cannot successfully mock that creature for 24 hours. While the fire aunt keeps haranguing, the creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and skill checks until it has successfully attacked the fire aunt with a melee or ranged attack, or has harmed the creature with a spell that deals damage.


More deadly are the groups of fire aunts who work together to expand the ghoulish presence of death and fire. These horrid creatures act as one and clamber over each other to claw at their prey.

Fire aunt swarm:Init +3; Atk claw +6 melee (2d7); AC 14; Armor die 1d5; HD 12d6; MV 30’; Act 2d20; SP un-dead, fiery aspect; fiery doom; claws attack all targets within 30’ x 30’ space, swarm traits, half damage from piercing and slashing weapons; SV Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +8; AL C.

A fire aunt swarm loses its directed nasty harangue because once together they can't agree on who deserves contempt. But the swarm still creates a continual vexing buzz that grants a -2 penalty on initiative rolls for creatures within 90 feet, able to see, hear, and understand the fire aunts, and capable of paying attention to it.
But they'll work together to burn forests or cross rivers.

The fire aunt swarm takes up a 30’ x 30’ space and inflicts its claw damage on every creature within that space.

Swarm traits: Because the fire aunt swarm is composed of many individual elements, it takes half damage from normal weapons and any spell or effect that normally has an individual target.

Fiery aspect: Creatures adjacent to a fire aunt take 2d8 points of fire damage at the start of their turn. Anyone striking a fire aunt swarm with an unarmed strike or natural attack takes 1d7 points of fire damage.

Fiery doom: A fire aunt explodes into a burst of flame when it dies. Anyone adjacent to the fire aunt when it is destroyed takes 2d8 points of fire damage. A Reflex save (DC 14) halves this damage.


New God

Jamie Deanes

The Cool One (neutral)(Chaotic tendencies)

In in old Urth, the territory southeast of Whistling Marshes was known as Hoosier Land. Years before the Great Cataclysm, the Cool One was an old Urth movie star who was born in Hoosier Land. It was said that the soil of Hoosier Land was the source of his strength. For centuries he was worshiped by the young people of old Urth who put black and white posters of him in their rooms. When the Great Cataclysm came, his followers watched his movies and prayed to him for protection. This allowed him to ascend to godhood. The Cool one didn’t star in many films but is beloved. He is said to be moody even by his followers.

Deanes is the god of cool, teenagers and movies. It is hard to define the tenants of the Cool one for it’s said that any attempt to define cool changes it. As the god of cool, he has some effect on the weather around him and can produce frost upon command. But he is known to scorn the bitter cold of the far north and extreme heat of the Wastelands. He is said to drive an Urth Porsche Spyder with a movie screen strapped to the back. The Cool One wears a spotless red zip up jacket, a white tee shirt, (no matter what the weather) and worn blue jeans. A lit old Urth brand cigarette is often found in his mouth.

Deanes is neutral but is known to have a Chaotic bent because of his disdain for authority. He enjoys the company of the Chaotic god, the Demon King of Speed, because of his fondness for race cars. He’s also known to avoid strict authority figures. However, he has an active sense of measured morality when it comes to his friends and followers. The Cool One has a strong following among Feral Urchins. (Except Nerds!)

In present day Hoosier Land, the town of Fairs Mountain which was the site of his old Urth grave (before the Great Cataclysm) is the site of a large shrine to the Cool One. Inside the shrine, there’s an extensive gift shop which sells (among other items) DVDs and VHS tapes of his old Urth movies, Rebellion without an Objective, Gigantic and West of the Garden of Eden. His followers gather each year, to drive fast cars, smoke old Urth cigarettes and watch movies away from the strict supervision of their parents. His older followers don’t acknowledge that they’ve grown up and join in the fun. (They want to be cool after all!)

The Tenets of the Cool One.
You don't have to explain anything to anybody.
Don’t be chicken.
Use your free will.
Don’t seek trouble but be brave.
Seek relief from confusion and shame.
Watch my movies and make copies for new followers.
Be loyal to your close friends.

Weapons of Choice The Cool One seeks to avoid conflict but, when necessary, his follows will use small knives such as old Urth switch blades or staves when confronted.

Unholy Creatures Undead, slow drivers, nerds, demons, strict authority figures and beasts of burden.

Special Rules
Priests of Deanes gain a bonus equal to their level on Personality checks to diffuse conflicts. Once per day, they may add 1d3 cold damage to a single attack.

Stay cool! Clerics of Deanes value peace contemplation and fast cars. They like to sit and smoke a cigarette. Sacrifices might be uncool items from the clerics community or horn rim glasses, small calculators and pocket protectors.


Pliers of Petee (artifact)

The picture is something I threw together! Not by Nate!

Santa the giving god, is known to employ elves (gnomes) as workers to make toys. Ages ago, so the legends say that one such elf, Petee was known to be an eccentric. He decided that he was fed up with toy production. Disgusted by all the cavities and gum disease caused by the high sugar diet of Santa's elves, Petee decided to do something about it. Being the eccentric elf that he was, Petee decided to become a periodontist and promote good dental hygiene and gum care at the North Pole. Scorned by his fellow elves and armed with his dental pliers, he set out on a quest to become a periodontist.

Along the way he met a crazed miner and an oddball caribou. When the group was threatened by an oversized yeti, Petee using his prized dental pliers saved the day! Eventually, the group returned to Santa’s workshop and were welcomed back. Petee was “allowed” to pursue his career as a periodontist. Over decades it is said, that his pliers were enchanted with robust magic by the giving god. However, the pliers were lost years ago and followers of Santa are known to seek the return of this fascinating dental tool.

Pliers of Petee: These oversized mithril pliers (for an elf (gnome/halfling, normal sized for a human or dwarf) when used by a follower of the giving god, have the following powers: Healing 2/day - heals 1d6+1 hit points of damage and grants the wieldier a +2 saving throw vs the harmful effects of cold weather. The pliers don’t normally function as a weapon but versus yetis (and wielded by a gnome/halfling) cause 1d10 points of damage.

When used by a creature of Chaotic alignment or a naughty person, they must make a DC 20 Will Save or permanently change their alignment to Law. Even on a successfully save the pliers burn their naughty hands for 3d6 damage and their name is forever inscribed on the giving gods naughty list.



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Two from the Fiend Folio

I've been playing a lot of Dungeon Crawl Classics recently. And I found there's not a lot of monsters for the referees. The creator Joseph Goodman said once that he wants referees/DMs to create their own monsters.

Like a lot of you, I tend to be a lazy DM. So here's some monsters to help along the way. These two were in the AD&D First Edition Fiend Folio as well as Barrow Maze in Labyrinth Lord format. I'm thinking of running Barrowmaze in my DCC game and I decided to convert them. They're based off the versions from the Pathfinder System Reference Document.

So please enjoy...

Huecuva Init +1; Atk touch +1 melee (1d6); AC 14; HD 2d12; hp 14; MV 30'; Act 1d20; SP half damage from non-magical weapons or non-silvered weapons, illusion of humanity, infravision 60', undead; SP disease (DC 14 Fort Save); SV Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +3; AL C

Hecuva's are the risen corpses of heretical clerics who blasphemed and repudiated their deities before encountering death. emporarily lose If a hecuva's attack is successful the creature takes 1d6 damage and must make a DC 14 Fort Save or suffer an additional 1d4 temporary Strength and Stamina damage.

A huecuva can cast an illusion that causes it to appear as the person it was in life. The illusion is complete visual and auditory. The huecuva can reveal his true form if it so wishes. A creature can make a DC 11 Will check to disbelieve.

Coffer Corpse Init +1; Atk slam +2 melee (1d4); AC 12; HD 2d12; hp 14; MV 20'; Act 1d20; SP deceitful death, fear (DC 12 Will save), grip, half damage from non-magical weapons or non-silvered weapons, infravision 60', undead; SV Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +3; AL C

If the coffer corpse hits with it's slam attack, it automatically grips the creature tightly around the throat. The creature is grappled and cannot attack unless it spends the next round struggling and succeeds on an opposed Strength check. The character also cannot speak or cast spells. On its turn, if the coffer corpse wins the Strength check, it chokes the same target for an automatic 1d4 points of damage.

When the coffer corpse is hit for 6 or more points of damage it falls to the ground, seemingly destroyed. If it has fastened its death grip on a victim, it releases its hold when it falls. On its next turn, the coffer corpse rises again as if reanimated, triggering its fear ability.


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Traveller

Wow...it's been a while since I've posted here.

Let's get back to speaking or talking (Ha!) about role playing games. One of my favorite games is
one of the first sci-fi role playing games Traveller. I still have my old Traveller Book. In Traveller, the referee can run a variety of sci-fi campgains, from military to trading, even espionage or exploration. I think this is one of the benefits of the game. It's rules allow for different styles of games. The referee can make their own setting or use the established one. It's been around since 1977. The name Traveller refers to the game but it has a variety of rules. From GURPS to Mongoose Traveller, which itself is based on the old Classic Traveller rules. The creator Marc Miller currently publishes a version called Traveller 5 abbreviated as T5. It's called Traveller 5, because it's the fifth incarnation of the rule set that Miller has been involved with.

One of the things that Traveller fans have done over the years is called the Traveller Landgrab. It's where fans take one of the published worlds for the system and put their own spin on the world. There's hundreds of worlds most of them found at the great site, Traveller Map. The site that used to house my 2006 Landgrab entry is down but it can still be found: here I wanted to repost it here. Orginally I posted it to the Traveller Mailing List. I picked the world Lahti, which was published in the book Gateway to Destiny, which is one of my favorite Traveller Books. Anyways, here's my old entry: 

Lahti 

-------- Original Message --------

Subject: [TML] Lahti/Crusis Margin 3030 Landgrab

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 23:16:42 +0000

From: "Michael McKeown"

Reply-To: The Traveller Mailing List <tml@travellerrpg.com>

To: tml@travellerrpg.com

Lahti/Crusis Margin 3030

I used Heaven and Earth and modified the government details. I based this on

the subsector write-up in Gateway to Destiny T20

UWP: A597AD9-E

PBG: 103

TRADE CODES: High Population, Industrial

ALLEGIANCE: Non-aligned

STELLAR DETAILS: Primary Star: A5 V

Binary Star: G7 V

STAR SYSTEM ORBITAL ZONES

1. Orbital Zones: Primary Star: 6 (Bodies Orbit around Primary Star)

Binary Star: 9 (Binary Star Orbit around Primary Star)

SIZE RELATED DETAILS

1. Basic World Type: Planet

2a. Planet Diameter: 4,900 miles (7,840 km)

2b. Planet Density: Molten Core, 1.02 terra

5. World Mass: 0.249 terra

6. World Gravity: 0.637 terra

7. Planet Orbit Period:

7a. Stellar Mass: 2.1 sol 0.89 sol

7b. Orbital Distance: 5.2 AU

7c. Orbital Period: 4,590.925 standard days

9. Rotation Period: 9.171 standard hours

10. Axial Tilt: 43 degrees

11. Orbital Eccentricity: 0.1

12. Seismic Stress Factor: 0.0

ATMOSPHERIC RELATED DETAILS

1. Atmospheric Composition: Standard oxygen-nitrogen mix, with pollutant

taint

2. Surface Atmospheric Pressure: 2.2 atm

3. Surface Temperature:

3a. Stellar Luminosity: 2.174

3b. Orbit Factor: 164.021

3c. Energy Absorption: 0.7

3d. Greenhouse Effect: 1.15

3e. Base Temperature: 15.289 degrees C

4. Orbital Eccentricity Effects: Tc=3 degrees C, Tf=-3 degrees C

5. Latitude Temperature Effects: (Hex Row=Degrees C)

1=+15, 2=+10, 3=+5, 4=0, 5=-5, 6=-10, 7=-15, 8=-20, 9=-25, 10=-30, 11=-35

degrees C

6a. Axial Tilt Base Increase: 25.8 degrees C

6b. Axial Tilt Base Decrease: -43 degrees C

6c. Axial Tilt Latitude Effects: (Hex Row=Degrees)

1=0.25, 2=0.5, 3=0.75, 4=1, 5=1, 6=1, 7=1, 8=1, 9=1, 10=1, 11=1 degrees

7a. Length of day and Night: 4.586 standard hours

7b. Rotation-Luminosity Effects: 2.183

7c. Daytime Rotation Effects: 0.873 +per hour of daylight, 2,517.804

absolute maximum plus temperature

7d. Nighttime Rotation Effects: 0.5 -per hour of darkness, 28.829 absolute

maximum minus temperature

11. Temperature Worksheet: See separate section

12. Native Life: Exists

13. Atmospheric Terraforming: Has not occurred

14. Greenhouse Effect Terraforming: Has not occurred

15. Albedo Terraforming: Has not occurred

HYDROSPHERE RELATED DETAILS

1. Hydrographic Percentage: 68%

2. Hydrographic Composition: Tainted liquid water

3. Tectonic Plates: 7

4. Hydrographic Terraforming: Has occurred

5. Terrain Terraforming: Has occurred

6. Continents and Oceans: 1 major continents, 8 minor continents, 6 major

islands, 8 archipelagoes

8. Resources and Goods:

Natural Resources: Ores, Radioactives, Crystals

Processed Resources: Agroproducts, Metals, Non-Metals

Manufactured Resources: Parts, Durables, Consumables, Weapons

Information Resources: Recordings, Artforms, Software, Documents

9. Weather Control: Is practiced

POPULATION RELATED DETAILS

1. Total World Population: 10,000,000,000

3. Cities:

3e. Medium-Large Cities (UWP Pop-2): Cities=16, Population/City=500,000,000

3g. Moderate-Size Cities (UWP Pop-3): Cities=24, Population/City=50,000,000

3i. Small Cities (UWP Pop-4): Cities=112, Population/City=5,000,000

3k. Very Small Cities (UWP Pop-5): Cities=480, Population/City=500,000

4. Primary Cities: 10

5. Starports and Spaceports: A/C/A/B/A/A/A/D/A/C

6. Orbital Cities: Present

7. Social Outlook:

7a. Progressiveness: Radical, Advancing

7b. Aggressiveness: Unaggressive, Neutral

7c. Extensiveness: Harmonious, Friendly

8a. Number of Customs: 4

8b-g. Local Customs/Practicing Group:

Fixed time for visiting.../Certain races.

Certain food sources taboo/Certain sex.

Unusual punishment required for.../Certain sex.

Have extravagent quarters/High social class.

RELATED DETAILS

1. Representative Authority Guide: Religious Dictatorship

2. Representative Authority: Ruler

3. Division of Authority: No division

8. Religious Profile

8a. God View: Philosophical atheism

8b. Spiritual Aim: Believers seek to expand the frontiers of knowledge

through inquiry and speculation.

8c. Devotional Requirement: Weekly

8d. Organization Structure: Rigid hierarchy with most decisions on a

regional level.

8e. Liturgical Formality: Emphasis is laid on communal teaching with limited

ritual.

8f. Missionary Fervor: Ordinary among a limited number of sophont races

8g. Number of Adherents: 9,000,000,000

LAW RELATED DETAILS

1. Uniformity of Law: Personal

2. Legal Profile: 9-GDFDE

TECHNOLOGY RELATED DETAILS

1. High Common Tech Level: E

2a. Low Common TL Limits: Upper=E, Lower=7

2b. Low Common TL: 7

3a. Energy TL Limits: Upper=G, Lower=7

3b. Energy TL: E

4a. Computer/Robotics TL Limits: Upper=G, Lower=5

4b. Computer/Robotics TL: D

5a. Communications TL Limits: Upper=G, Lower=5

5b. Communications TL: F

6a. Medical TL Limits: Upper=G, Lower=0

6b. Medical TL: D

7a. Environment TL Limits: Upper=G, Lower=B

7b. Environment TL: F

8a. Land Transport TL Limits: Upper=G, Lower=B

8b. Land Transport TL: E

9a. Water Transport TL Limits: Upper=E, Lower=9

9b. Water Transport TL: E

10a. Air Transport TL Limits: Upper=E, Lower=9

10b. Air Transport TL: E

11a. Space Transport TL Limits: Upper=G, Lower=D

11b. Space Transport TL: F

12a. Personal Military TL Limits: Upper=G, Lower=0

12b. Personal Military TL: E

13a. Heavy Military TL Limits: Upper=G, Lower=0

13b. Heavy Military TL: E

14. Novelty Tech Level: F

TEMPERATURE WORKSHEET

---------------------

LATITUDE BASE

HEX BASE TEMPERATURE TEMPERATURE

ROW TEMPERATURE EFFECTS FOR HEX ROW

1 15 15 30

2 15 10 25

3 15 5 20

4 15 0 15

5 15 -5 10

6 15 -10 5

7 15 -15 0

8 15 -20 -5

9 15 -25 -10

10 15 -30 -15

11 15 -35 -20

AXIAL TILT HIGHEST

HEX SUMMER AXIAL TILT TEMP PLUS DAYTIME ORBIT ECC TEMP

FOR

ROW PLUS FACTOR IN SUMMER PLUS PLUS HEX ROW

1 26 0.25 6 4 0.1 41

2 26 0.5 13 4 0.1 42

3 26 0.75 19 4 0.1 44

4 26 1 26 4 0.1 45

5 26 1 26 4 0.1 40

6 26 1 26 4 0.1 35

7 26 1 26 4 0.1 30

8 26 1 26 4 0.1 25

9 26 1 26 4 0.1 20

10 26 1 26 4 0.1 15

11 26 1 26 4 0.1 10

AXIAL TILT LOWEST

HEX WINTER AXIAL TILT TEMP MINUS NIGHTTIME ORBIT ECC TEMP

FOR

ROW MINUS FACTOR IN WINTER MINUS MINUS HEX ROW

1 -43 0.25 -11 2 -0.1 17

2 -43 0.5 -22 2 -0.1 1

3 -43 0.75 -32 2 -0.1 -14

4 -43 1 -43 2 -0.1 -30

5 -43 1 -43 2 -0.1 -35

6 -43 1 -43 2 -0.1 -40

7 -43 1 -43 2 -0.1 -45

8 -43 1 -43 2 -0.1 -50

9 -43 1 -43 2 -0.1 -55

10 -43 1 -43 2 -0.1 -60

11 -43 1 -43 2 -0.1 -65

HISTORY - Solomani colonists settled Lahti during the ending years of the

Rule of Man. Lahti retained starflight during the Long Night and sent ships

to surrounding worlds. Those worlds however remained independent as the

years went by. Hiver Federation contacts in the early years of the distant

Third Imperium helped keep Lahti?s technology level at the highest for this

part of the subsector. A few Vilani settlers traveled to the planet in later

years as word of the governmental view traveled across known space. Now the

planet is an active trading partner in the subsector. The planet exports

varying types of products.

GOVERNMENT - Lahti is ruled by the Society for a Rational Spirit. The

government strictly prohibits other organized religions. All persons working

in large organizations such as corporations and the military are expected to

be practicing members. The government sponsors a sizable Naval and marine

force. A highport Naval base orbits near the highport area of the starport.

There is also a naval base on the planet Lahti I Epsilon. The navy has three

light cruisers of around 17,000 tons of Solomani design. The other ships are

patrol cruisers, fighters, close escorts and SDB?s. The government has

extremely poor relations with the Droyne in the subsector since the Droyne

failed to respond to a Lahtian merchant?s ship?s distress call two years

ago.

ATOMSPEHERE - The atmosphere is tainted by thick smog and filter masks must

be worn outside. Years of uncontrolled burning of hydrocarbons led to the

thick smog.

POPULATION - The population lives in extended urban areas and 2 orbital

cities. The capital city of the planet is Sego with a population of

500,000,000. Several of the other major cities are Logan, Nice, Turin and

Newago. Coastal communities support the capture of fish and the mountain

ranges are the locations of ore mines including uranium and magnesium and

coalmines.

CULTURE - Pregnant women are not allowed to eat meat or fish products and

Women who commit crimes are forced to have numbers tattooed on their right

forearms and the data entered into a planetary database. These women are

forbidden to enter the military or work in large corporations.

Despite the overall conservative culture of Lahti, the planet trades in

substantial portions with the Hiver worlds to trailing. The Hive Federation

has a trade compound on the capital city, Sego.

Adventure seeds: The PC's are asked to escort several large Lahtian merchant

ships a few parasecs to Hiver space and return with a cargo load of Hiver

robots.

The Church of Stellar Divinity has hired the PC?s to free by any means

necessary several members of their faith being held in Lahtian prison.

The PC?s are asked to deliver a load of cargo to a mining colony on a gas

giant moon orbiting the secondary star. What could possibility go wrong??

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What's Old is New (Part 1)

I recently got a copy of the Premium 2nd edition Dungeons and Dragons (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons) Dungeon Masters Guide as a birthday present. This completed my set of the 2nd edition premium books and decided to run a game for some friends. I haven’t run 2nd edition in a long time but decided it would be fun to run a a game again. So before the game I spent a few days rereading the Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide to re-quaint myself with the 2nd edition rules. Although, I'd played and ran 2nd edition before, it was old to me and I wanted to get up to speed again.

My friends and I met at a local hobby ship and they rolled up characters. Of the various methods of generating ability scores. I had them use Method V (Roll 4d6 drop the lowest value and assign the value to the ability score of their choice. But I was also more lenient. Some 2nd edition character classes have specific ability score requirements like the paladin. For instance, the paladin in 2nd edition requires a Charisma of 17 and a Wisdom of 13. One player wanted to play a paladin so I allowed him to assign the minimum required ability score to his Charisma and Wisdom. The other abilities I had him roll 3d6 straight. I felt like this allowed him to play the character class of his choice rather than penalizing him as a result of his die rolls.

Some of my friends were old enough to have played 2nd edition when it was published. But they spent a few minutes looking over the PHB again, because the system was in a way "new" to them as well. Two of them even had their old 2nd edition books around and brought them to the game. A new player in his twenties was only familiar with 3rd and 5th edition. It took him a bit longer to make a character because he’d never looked at the 2nd edition Player’s Handbook and classes among other things, for instance, are a bit different than in Fifth Edition D&D. For instance, paladins are required to be lawful good and human in 2nd edition where as in Fifth Edition, there is no racial or alignment restriction on paladins.

Another interesting difference is descending armor class. Basic Dungeons and Dungeons, 1st and 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons uses descending Armor Class. The highest armor class value is -10 where as in Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons and Dungeon Crawl Classics, the highest armor class can be around 22. This can be confusing at times. Each armor type is assigned a different value. For instance, Leather gives an AC of 8 in AD&D and 7 in Basic. It is 11 in D&D 5e and 12 in Dungeon Crawl Classics. If you're looking to convert 1st or 2nd edition monsters for your Fifth Edition Game this site has a quick AC convesion chart.

Another important difference between 2nd edition and other editions of Dungeons and Dragons is that 2nd edition uses THAC0 (To hit Armor Class Zero ) In 2nd edition under the THACO system, to calculate if a hit succeeds you would take the AC of the target and subtract it from the attacker's THAC0, then roll a 20-sided dice; if the dice rolls equal to or higher than the calculated number, the attack is successful and hits the target. That is, THAC0 − AC = roll needed to hit. Where as in 5e, you add your proficiency modifier, ability score modifier and any other relevant bonuses to your die roll and the Armor Class of the opponent is the target number. For example, if Bob the fighter was fighting an orc with an Armor Class of 13. He has a proficiency modifier of +2 and an ability score modifier of +3 then he would add +5 to a d20 roll in Fifth Edition to see if he hit the orc. In 2nd edition each class and level have a different THACO. Bob would have to look up his THACO value for his class to see what it was then subtract the value of the opponents Armor Class from your THACO.

Next time getting down to playing….



Let me know what you think about this in the comments or join the discussion on Twitter!

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Eberron announced for 5th Edition!

Eberron fans were rejoicing on Monday when Wizards of the Coast published Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron on dmsguild.com The setting first published in 2002 for Third Edition, is a mix of high magic and technology in a novel fantasy setting. The Wayfinder’s guide is a 176 page pdf. Credits are given to the creator of Eberron Keith Baker and Ruty Rutenberg from Maze Arcana.


It’s broken down into 4 chapters. Chapter 1 is What is Eberron. This is a brief overview of the setting. Chapter 2 Welcome to Khorvaire is an introduction of the lands and nations of Eberron. 3 Races of Eberron is a brief overview of the various races of Eberron. Notably lacking are dragonborn and tieflings which DMs can feel free to introduce in their own Eberron campaigns. Chapter 4 Dragonmarks is an overview of a key feature of the Eberron setting. Dragonmarks are tattoos of mystical power. Chapter 5 magic items updates the magic items of the setting for Fifth Edition. Chapter 6 Sharn City of Towers discusses the various areas of the large city.

Fans of the setting will want to pick of the pdf which updates a lot of the magic items to Fifth Edition. A lot of other materials for Eberron are also available on dmsguild.com as well.
Fans of this blog and from my posts on Enworld know that I’m a big fan of converting monsters. So for the new Eberron pdf here’s two Eberron monsters for Fifth Edition.


Warforged Titan

Alchemy Beetle

Let me know what you think about these critters on the comments or join the discussion on Twitter!


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What is DCC?

Wow it’s been ages since I’ve posted a new blog but I recently played a new system and wanted to share the experience.  I've heard about Dungeon Crawl Classics or DCC, for a number of years. I've been wanting to play and a friend of mine is a big fan. Recently he invited me to play and set up an event on Meetup to find a few more players.

Dungeon Crawl Classics by Goodman Games. is a RPG based on Basic Dungeons and Dragons that uses the OGL. It was first published in 2012. Goodman Games advertises the game as "an OGL system that cross-breeds Appendix N with a streamlined version of 3E." Although Goodman Games advertises it as a "streamlined version of 3E" DDC has much more in common with Basic D&D than 3E. The 488-page book features artwork from former TSR artists such as Jeff Easley and Earl Otus. This contributes to its appeal to players of Basic and AD&D. Newer artists such as Stefan Poag also contributed to the game. DCC uses the standard dice set (d4, d6, d8, d10, tens ten, d12 and d20) as well as a d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24 and d30. These extra dice are often referred to as the Zocchi dice set after the creator Lou Zocchi. My friend and another player had the Zocchi dice set but if you're very interested in the game you'll want to pick up the additional dice set.

The book has nine chapters- 1. Characters 2. Skills 3. Equipment 4. Combat 5. Magic 6. Quests and Journeys. 7. Judges Rules, 8. Magic Items. 9. Monsters DCC uses a different set of abilities - Strength, Agility, Stamina, Personality, Intelligence, and Luck. All characters can burn Luck during the game to enhance their die rolls. Abilities are generated "old school" using 3d6 rolling once in order for each ability. There is no point buy for abilities in the system. There are simplified classes - the Warrior, the Thief, the Cleric, the Wizard, the Dwarf, the Elf and the Halfling. As in Basic D&D demi-humans are classes in themselves rather than races. It's also similar to Basic D&D in that no monk, paladin, druid, or ranger classes exist. Equipment is familiar to any edition of D&D.

Skills and Combat are similar to any version of D&D. You roll a d20 and add an applicable modifier. Skills are simplified and are based off abilities, such as Balancing is based off of Agility. Armor Class is an ascending number rather than a decreasing number like in AD&D. There are 3 saves Fortitude, Reflex, and Willpower similar to 3E. Spellcasting a bit different where as a wizard rolls a d20 to cast a spell. Wizards can regain a spell depending on their die roll.

We started off by generating four zero level characters. Zero level characters was a concept first mentioned briefly by Gygaz and in Basic D&D. After Gygax left TSR full rules for zero level PCs were introduced in the Greyhawk Adventures hardcover. My friend had us generate four PC's in the expectation that most if not all of our characters would survive. I rolled up abilities for each of my four zero level PCs. There was a table for occupations and that table also chose if the character was a demi-human. Each occupation gave accompanying special equipment. Two of my characters were demi-humans - a halfling and a dwarf. One of the other players rolled up a human farmer with a goose! The adventure was based off a published DCC module. Most of each of the players had a number their characters die. That was the reason why four PCs were rolled up. I ended up having a great time. Each of the players laughed at the various antics of their characters and the DM used descriptions to flavor the combat. A lot of characters died but the goose ended up surviving! Goodman Games does a great job with DCC in capturing the old school feel of Basic D&D and AD&D. There's varying OSR or Old School Renaissance games out there but none have the in-depth artwork and product support that DCC does. It aims to appeal to both older players as well as newer players with its simplicity. If you're mainly looking for detailed character class choices with varying rules for race and class in games such as Pathfinder or Rolemaster than DCC isn't for you. But if you're looking for a relatively simple yet fun fantasy RPG for both player and GM than Goodman Games DCC is for you.

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