Savage Worlds: Hopkinsville Goblin

Strange, short creatures that seem linked to mines and possibly UFOs. They have been known to terrorize some locations and may be linked to the Mammoth Cave system.

HOPKINSVILLE GOBLIN

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
   Strength d4, Vigor d4

Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d6, 
   Fighting d4, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, 
   Shooting d4, Stealth d8

Pace: 10; Parry: 4; Toughness: 4

Edges: Alertness

Special Abilities:
• Claws: Str+d4.
• Speed: D10 running die.

(If you like this post and others like it and have an extra $1 a month, please consider becoming a Patron of Cross Planes on Patreon.)

X: The Si-Fan for Savage Worlds

Founded by Fu Manchu, the Si-Fan, has haunted the civilized world like a vengeful ghost willing to release pain, suffering, and death in a seemingly random pattern. 

Unfortunately for the world's police and intelligence agencies, there is nothing random to the Si-Fan's goals.

The secret society is comprised of the world's top criminals and assassins and has always been the Devil Doctor's right hand in achieving his dark goals. 

In recent times, it has operated completely in the shadows and quietly manipulated events behind the scenes, as Fu Machu's daughter, Fah Lo Suee has take a larger leadership role since  2006.

In fact, INTERPOL reported as recently as 2015 that the Si-Fan had been absorbed by the League of Shadows and Fu Manchu was presumed dead.

Sadly, for the world, The Devil Doctor, his daughter, and this organization are very much alive and recently reignited a war between the Rector and Gable corporation and the Procyon Regime AKA the Flatwood Monsters, by purposely failing an attempt on Gianna Gable's oldest daughter and planting false evidence.

Their reasons for this action are unclear, but it will certainty benefit the Si-Fan.

Deadlands Session 4

Coffin Rock's' Dr. Orlando was strangely absent an unaccounted for as the town came together after the defeat of Parson Cheval.

The Posse checked out his office and found several freshly skinned corpses and a bloody dress form. It appeared he'd skinned some victims to make a flesh suit and fled.

Doc Lightning used her Weird Science to make a skinwalker detector and the various townsfolk were interviewed for information.

Meanwhile, Plays With Fire sought the advice fo spirits, where he encountered a strange and ominous woman with golden eyes who advised him they would need silver bullets to kill what Orland had become. When he questioned why she would help him, she admitted that she hoped to turn him toward her darkness. After that he went outside of town and communed with the earth spirit, Tacheene. The earth spirit was in far better shape since being rescued and was able to sense Orlando's corruption.

At the same time, the rest of the Posse had procured some silver from miners and had some bullets made.

By the time they met up it was early evening and they were hunting in the canyon just outside of town. They came upon Orlando, his bloody form easy to see in the cloudless sky. He summoned some coyotes, but the battle was over fairly quickly and the Posse was victorious.

They returned to town and were welcomed with drink and excitement.

In the morning, Pearl Daily, the new Mayor asked them to stay on to help the town, but hey turned her down.

They headed to Kansas for the reward for Archer and his Out of Control gang.

On the train, we used the Interlude rules to find out more about each character. Doc Lightning has a beloved cat back east; Shady had a sad story about his father; The Reverend admitted to finding his calling and swaying the likes of 2000 souls; Shorty revealed that he came West and lost his wife and kids; Plays With Fire admitted to a fascination to technology, but his loyalty to the Old Ways keeps him from pursuing it.

They got to Kansas and got their reward. They contemplated various jobs and settled on heading to Tombstone, AZ to help Doc Holiday and the Earps.

The trip to Tombstone was eventful, though the were uncomfortable going about town unarmed.

They came across the Earps in the Oriental Saloon, who were pursuing Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury armed in town and headed out to deal with them.

A drunken youngblood named Bixler Tate started cussing and causing a ruckus. He picked a fight with the Posse and a bar brawl commenced. The Posse came out on the winning end and they noticed Tate wore a red bandana which connected him to the Cowboy gang. The Posse decided to tie him up to wait for the Earps to return.

Dungeon Mastering 101: Confidence

I've been a DM for over 25 years. I've always thought of myself as being good at it. I try to make the table comfortable for others, I spotlight the players, and I want everyone to have fun.

But something strange has occurred in the last few months: I've lost confidence in myself. I'm sure part of it was the burnout on DnD 5E (I'm loving Savage Worlds in the Deadlands setting since the change). And I think another part of it was my switch over from being a DM who used 100% self-written adventures to nearly 100% published adventures. But I don't think that explains it all.

Its something I'm struggling with. Being a good DM is important to me and I have two awesome groups these days (and I even get to play in 1 of them). I figure if I can root out the cause of the lack of confidence, I can better work on how to fix it.

One thing I've noticed is that I've always been a very improvisation DM and that's something I've moved away from. Perhaps that was the first symptom?

I don't think DMs always get the credit they deserve. While its great to see people like Matt Mercer, most of us don't have his background or budget and I think it can set an unrealistic expectation for some within the hobby. Don't get me wrong, show like Critical Role are great for the hobby, but every DM is different and the fact they are willing take on the responsibility should earn them some love.

I wrote this in hopes of a) exorcising whatever demon I've got right now and b) to let others know that if they go through this kind of thing, they are not alone.

Deadlands: Kanontsistonties for Savage Worlds

According to folklore, the Kanontsistonties are the spirits of people who were murdered as a result of decapitation. In these tales, the Flying Heads seek revenge against those who did them wrong.

KANONTSISTONTIES

Wild Card

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
   Strength d6, Vigor d6

Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d8, 
   Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Stealth d8

Pace: --; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6 (4)

Edges: Combat Reflexes

Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d4.
• Armor: 4.
• Fear: -1.
• Flying: Pace of 10.
• Size -3: The size of a human head.

(If you like this post and others like it and have an extra $1 a month, please consider becoming a Patron of Cross Planes on Patreon.)

Savage Worlds: Bat Boy

"...Scientists used to think the famed imp was a pitiful, one-of-a-kind mutant - but now believe he belongs to a race of creatures who have interacted with humans for at least 400 years."

BAT BOY

Wild Card

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, 
   Strength d6, Vigor d6

Skills:  Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d4, 
   Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d8, 
   Persuasion d4, Stealth d8

Pace: 5; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5

Edges: Alertness, Fame

Special Abilities:
• Infravision.
• Flight: Pace of 8 
• Size -1: Size of child.

(If you like this post and others like it and have an extra $1 a month, please consider becoming a Patron of Cross Planes on Patreon.)

Savage Worlds: Flash Mob

Jon Martin Coooper Jr. is the oldest of three children of Jon Sr. and Lena. They met while working at Makro Chemical in Texas. After marrying they moved to Lena's hometown of Dayton, OH to raise their family, with Jon Sr. taking a position at Brighton Solutions and Lena becoming an Art teacher at Sizemore Elementary.

At the age of 11, JJ was spending the night at a friends house when a fire started and in his fear and panic, he duplicated for the first time to help wake up his friend's family. Within a week after the incident, the Coopers were first approached by Elias and Tomasina Ash to join their new school, the Kiln in Louisville, KY.

JJ graduated with his Bachelors in entrepreneurial studies and music at the age of 17 and has gone on to help recruit new students for the Kiln.

He also has been known to team up with several other former students as part of ECHELON, doing freelance security and intelligence work.

FLASH MOB

Wild Card

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, 
   Strength d8, Vigor d8

Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d8,
   Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Investigation d8,
   Notice d8, Performance d10, Persuasion d10, 
   Shooting d6, Stealth d8

Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 8 (2)

Edges: Arcane Background (Super Powers), 
   Jack of All Trades, Martial Artist, Mighty Blow

Special Abilities:
• Unarmed: Str+d4.
• Armor: 2.
• Duplication: 10 duplicates (No Tell; Promotion).

(If you like this post and others like it and have an extra $1 a month, please consider becoming a Patron of Cross Planes on Patreon.)