Worlds Without Number: Tiefling Origin

I really liked how Tieflings in Planechase didn't have universal traits so I decided to channel that a bit using Foci.

Tiefling

Across the many planes of the Polyverse are countless humanoids who bear a bloodline from the Lower Planes.

Level 1

Roll once on the Appearance table.

You can adjust your appearance in other ways with the Game Master's approval.

d8 Appearance

1.   Your skull is larger than normal

       Gain a +1 to your Intelligence Modifier.

2.   Your ears are larger than normal.

       Gain the Alert focus.

3.    Your eyes are mirror-like and segmented like an insect's.

       Gain a +1 to your Wisdom Modifier.

4.   You have a small pair of horns on your head.

       Gain the Dealmaker focus.

5.   Your tongue is forked.

       Gain the Diplomatic Grace focus.

6.   You have feathers instead of hair.

       Gain the Gifted Chirugeon focus.

7.   Your body is covered in scales.

      Gain the Diehard focus.

8.   You have intricated birthmarks all over your body.

      Gain the Nullifier focus.

Masters of the Universe Revelation

Netflix dropped Masters of the Universe Revelations last week and like nearly anything in the 21st century, there is some outrage about it.

I encountered the Masters of the Universe toyline from Mattel when my buddy Barry (maybe the only kid more spoiled than I was) and I played with his He-Man, Man-At-Arms, Skeletor, and Beast-Man. I was hooked from the moment I saw their crazy proportions and I made my Mom drag me to Kay-Bee Toys to get all four. What Barry hadn't shown me were the enclosed mini-comics which were awesome.

Before the Filmation series, He-Man was the star of the Masters of the Universe but I found all the characters pretty darn cool and the cartoon's lore didn't really jive with the early mini-comics. I enjoyed the Filmation series but the introduction of Prince Adam and Orko was a little odd to my 10-year-old self. Due to some Marvel Comic 3-Packs of Conan the Barbarian and DC Comic 3-Packs of Tarzan I was already starting to dig pulp adventurers and I always preferred the story featuring a barbarian who finds a magic harness & cool weapons to Shazam-like transformation, but I watched the cartoon anyway and I consumed Masters of the Universe.

And obviously, I love Masters of the Universe since I've made so many posts about it.

Let me add something right here and now though, I'm not a Kevin Smith fan and his movies just aren't something I really dig. Maybe he was talked up to much before I saw Clerks or Mallrats or Chasing Amy or Dogma? In case you don't know Kevin Smith is Revelations showrunner and he says Revelation is a direct sequel to the Filmation series.

Also let me add that last year, largely due to the new Masters of the Universe Origins toy line, I got back into action figures. There has been "concern" among that community that Kevin isn't really a He-Man fan and that his series is supposed to subvert the character.

I went in pretty open-minded.

I've seen three of the first five episodes and I really love this show Kevin Smith and all. I won't lie to you that by the end of Episode 1 something major happens and the story goes off in a direction I didn't foresee. Also, this IS a direct sequel to the Filmation series but because of what happens it took me a few minutes to process where the story was going and I think some people might get turned off and miss out on a great story, but that's their loss.

The story, in my opinion, makes a lot of sense and really lets Masters of the Universe be about more than He-Man and Skeletor and I love that. I love it a lot. 

Orko isn't annoying and there are moments of real emotion from the nostalgia these characters experience after the events of the first episode. The status quo has changed dramatically and many of these characters, even the "bad guys" -- especially the "bad guys" are really going through something.

The one issue that might crop up is Teela's reaction to what happens and if you didn't watch the Filmation movie or know the lore you might not fully get her strong emotions. Is the show about Teela? Yes, and it's about Duncan, Orko, Evil-Lyn, Tri-Klops, Beast-Man, Whiplash, Trap Jaw, and Mer-Man through three episodes. But it is also okay that it is about Teela because this store isn't a Skeletor scheme-of-the-episode and there are real stakes involved because the people who loved it are now making it.

And I really, really love that.

Let me add that the voice cast is outstanding on every level but Lena Headey's Evil-Lyn is transcendent and her castmates include the Onion Knight, Luke Skywalker, and Batman.

I totally love this series and I hope it rises above the outrage. I do understand feeling a bit puzzled about Smith's "direct sequel" and the direction the story takes, but the property is better for it and I hope it makes a lot of people love Masters of the Universe. It certainly gave me everything I wanted in a MotU show as well as everything I didn't know that I wanted if that makes sense.

Marvel Monday: Hulk for Godbound

       

Immoral Hulk for Godbound

AC: 5 (Requires a magic weapon)

HD: 9
Attack: +9 x2

Morale: 10

Move: 40'

Save: 6+

Damage: 1d6 unarmed straight, magic weapon

Effort: 6

Words: Endurance, Madness, Might

Powers

• Eyes of Unreason

• Fear No Steel

• Harder Than This

• Leap the Moon

• Shoulders Wide as the World

• Stronger Than You

• Unbreakable

•Undying

• Thews of the Gods

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World of Warcraft: Tauren Origin for Worlds Without Number

     

Art by Rogier van de Beek

Tauren

Level 1

They gain a +1 to their Constitution or Strength Modifier up to a maximum of +3, their maximum System Strain is their Constition +2, and their horns are a melee weapon that deals 1d6 damage and Shock of 2/AC 13.

Level 2

They gain Survival as a bonus skill, a +1 to either their Mental or Physical Save, and an Effort of 1. They may Commit Effort for the Day and spend their Main Action to stomp their hoof on the ground requiring each creature within 5 feet to make a Physical Saving throw and on a failure take 1d8 damage and lose their next Move Action.

Warhammer 40,000: Necron Immortal for Stars Without Number

    

Necron Immortal for Stars Without Number

HD: 4

AC: 17

Atk: +4
Dmg: Seen below

Move: 10m

ML: 11

Skills: +3
Save: 12+

• When a Necron Immortal is reduced to zero hit points roll a Saving throw and on a success, it instead survives with 1 Hit Point.

• Immortals are armed with a Tesla Carbine which has a range of 50/100m and targets up to 1d4 enemies within range as a Main Action (bolts of electricity jump from enemy to enemy). The target(s) must make an Evasion Saving throw or take 3d4 damage.  

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Warhammer Fantasy: Skaven Stormvermin for Worlds Without Number

   

Skaven Stormvermin for Worlds Without Number

HD: 4

AC: 16a
Atk: +5
Dmg: Wpn+1

Shock: Wpn+1

Move: 30'

ML: 10

Instinct: 2
Skill: +2
Save: 10+

• If a Stormvermin's To Hit roll is a natural 18 - 20 the target takes 1d6 System Strain. 

• When a Stormvermin makes an Execution Attack the target has a -3 penalty to their Physical Saving throw.

• When a Stormvermin rolls Lead, Notice or Sneak skill checks, roll 3d6 and drop the lowest die.

• Skaven can see in utter darkness out to a distance of 60 feet.

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Star Wars: Jawa Origin for Stars Without Number

    

Jawas

What Jawas hid underneath their heavy robes was subject to much speculation with rumors claiming they were giant rodents or devolved humans. Although Jawas were typically small, measuring only one meter, some of them were significantly taller than that. 

When Jawas began to walk, they were given moisture-regulated and insulated robes that they would wear their whole life. Their robes were originally hemmed to the armpit. As they mature, the hem is lowered to cover their height. Most Jawas measured their height by the amount of hems their robes had had. An average adult Jawa had usually had five or six hems in their robes.

Level 1

A Jawa gains Survive and either Fix or Trade as a bonus skill.

Warhammer 40,000: Necron Warrior for Stars Without Numbeer

   

Necron Warrior for Stars Without Number

HD: 2

AC: 16

Atk: +2
Dmg: 2d8+2

Move: 10m

ML: 11

Skills: +1
Save: 14+

• When a Necron Warrior is reduced to zero hit points roll a Physical Saving throw and on a success, it instead survives with 1 Hit Point.

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Marvel Monday: Klaw for Godbound

      

Ulysses Klaw for Godbound

AC: 4 (Requires a magic weapon)

HD: 7
Attack: +9 x3

Morale: 10

Move: 30'

Save: 10+

Damage: 1d8+1, magic weapon

Effort: 4

Words: Engineering; Madness; Vengeance

Powers

• Blood For Blood

• Bloody Vengeance

• Brilliant Invention

• Furious Counerstrike

• Hallucinating World

• Soul of the Machine

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Warhammer Fantasy: Skaven Clanrat for Worlds Without Number

  

Skaven Clanrat for Worlds Without Number

HD: 2

AC: 14a
Atk: +2
Dmg: Wpn

Shock: Wpn

Move: 25'

ML: 8

Instinct: 4
Skill: +1
Save: 14+

• Skaven are known to coat their weapons in shit, poison, disease, or even warpstone. If a clanrat's To Hit roll is a natural 19 - 20 the target takes 1d6 System Strain. 

• When a clanrat rolls Notice or Sneak skill checks, roll 3d6 and drop the lowest die.

• Skaven can see in utter darkness out to a distance of 30 feet.

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Warhammer Fantasy: Squig for Worlds Without Number

 

Squig for Worlds Without Number

HD: 1

AC: 14
Atk: +2
Dmg: 1d4

Shock: 1 / 15

Move: 30'

ML: 10

Instinct: 9
Skill: +1
Save: 14+

• When taking the swarm action with other squigs add  +1 damage to Shock up to +3.

The Squig (short for "Squiggly Beasts") is considered by many to be the simplest form of Greenskin life. Squigs seem to be extremely simple in terms of their motivations. So far, they have only ever been reliably observed exhibiting two behavioral patterns; eat anything edible that is nearby, then move more-or-less randomly until there is something else to eat within range, and once more wander about aimlessly. A number of bizarre offshoots of Squigs have been seen in various locations within the Old World, though they inevitably favor lightless areas such as caves and underground tunnels.

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Star Wars: Wookiee Origin for Stars Without Number

   

Wookiee

They were a species of tall, hairy humanoids that were native to the planet Kashyyyk. They were quite strong and were known to rip people's arms out of their sockets when provoked. Though being from a temperate planet better known for its swamps and forests, they were able to be comfortable on icy worlds such as Ilum and Hoth without any protective clothing, including gloves and boots.

Wookiees had extendable claws which they used for climbing; using them for anything else violated the Wookiee honor code. Despite their fearsome appearance and volatile temperament, Wookiees were regarded as intelligent, sophisticated, loyal, and trusting. When angered, Wookiees were known to descend into a berserker rage.

Wookiees had a long lifespan, appearing not to age over a span of fifty years. They could learn to understand other languages, like Galactic Basic, but they were physically unable to speak them. To those who had not learned to understand Shyriiwook, the Wookiee language, it appeared they spoke in a series of growls and purrs. 

Level 1

A wookiee gains Punch as a bonus skill and they gain a +1 bonus to their Strength modifier, up to a maximum of +3.

Level 2

They deal +1 Shock with melee weapons and they gain Exert as a bonus skill.

Silent Legions: Kushtaka

   

Kushtaka for Silent Legions

AC: 5
HD: 2
Atks: Bite +2
Dmg: 1d6

Move: 30' / 20' Swimming

Morale: 8
Skill: +3
Special: Disguised
Madness: 1
Save: 12+


Physically, kushtaka are shape-shifters who will imitate the cries of a baby or the screams of a woman to lure victims to the river. Once there, the Kushtaka attempt to kill their victim.

It is also said that the Kushtaka emit a high pitched, three part whistle in the pattern of low-high-low.

Finally, kushtaka hate shamans, witches, and magicians and will go out of their way to destroy them (60% chance to detect within 90 feet).

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Worlds Without Number: Displacer Beast

Displacer Beast

 for Worlds Without Number

HD: 3

AC: 13
Atk: +5
Dmg: 1d8 / 1d8

Shock: 2 / 13

Move: 40'

ML: 9

Instinct: 6
Skill: +2
Save: 13+

• If a creature's To Hit roll against the displacer beast is odd it becomes a miss.

• A displacer beast does not take Shock damage on a miss in melee combat if the To Hit roll is odd.

• Its tentacles have the Long trait.

• Due to its tentacles a displacer beast may Grapple two foes at the same time.

"The displacer beast is a "vaguely puma-like creature" with tentacles that are "dead black". The "molecular vibrations of the displacer beast are such that it always appears to be three feet [from] its actual position." Because of this they get a bonus to AC and saves.

It uses its two tentacles in combat, slashing victims with "the rough, horny edges of these appendages"."

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Marvel Monday: Captain America for Godbound

Captain America Level 5 for Godbound

Abilities       Score   (Modifier)  [Check]
Strength          14        (+2)           [7+]
Dexterity        13         (+1)           [8+]
Constitution   16         (+2)           [5+] 
Wisdom          13         (+1)           [8+]
Intelligence     13         (+0)           [8+]
Charisma        18         (+3)           [3+]

AC 

3 (2 with Shield)

Saving Throws
Hardiness   13+
Evasion      14+
Spirit          12+

Facts (+4)
Just A Kid From the Lower East Side

A Good Soldier, A Better Man

The First Avenger

A Stranger in a Strange Time

Sentinel of Liberty

Agent of SHIELD

Nomad

Defend the U.S. from Threats Foreign and Domestic

Words
Universal

    Corona of Fury (Smite Action) [Shield Slinging]

Endurance

    Defy the Iron

Peak Human

    All Natural

    Human Grit

    Indomitable Will

    Mortal's Luck

    Off the Wall

    Street Sweeper

    Trained Aim

Protection

   Shed the Black Rain

   Unbreakable

    

Equipment
Unarmed  +8; 1d6+2, Fray 1d8

Shield +8; 1d8+3, Fray 1d8, Magic

Hit Points     30

Effort            6

Influence      5

Goal   

To Defend Liberty


   

Star Wars: Trandoshans for Stars Without Number

   

Trandoshan

They were sentient humanoids with smooth, scaly skin. Trandoshans ranged from being tall and fairly gaunt to being short and more rotund. Trandoshans were powerful beings and had long thin arms that ended in either three thick digits, or four thin digits, including a thumb. Trandoshans had a pair of eyes set back on a pointed skull, and a jaw filled with pointed teeth. They hatched from eggs, with individuals who shared a hatch of eggs calling each other clutchmates.
Trandoshans often walked barefooted and had feet with three digits each. A Trandoshan's skin color could vary wildly, and Trandoshans could be found with green, red, orange, brown, or yellow skin. Some Trandoshans had brownish-orange skin with red stripes on their face. They were able to regrow their limbs if they were severed. Trandoshans used their sharp claws to climb tall trees in the forest or jungles they naturally inhabited.

They regrow lost arms or legs in 1d6+1 weeks. Gain a +1 bonus to their Strength modifier and when attempting to climb roll 3d6 on the Exert skill check and drop the lowest die.

The 9 Realms: Session 1 & 2

A few weeks ago I ran Godbound for a small group of friends, 3 players in all. I used some pregens found here and my players chose to run Thor, a Red Dragon, and Legolas. They investigated some disappearances in the village of Kwung at the base of Red Witch Mountain. 

The session was great and heavily featured investigation and a lot of role-playing. The characters discovered that Loki & Hela were manipulating a pact that Odin had made many centuries ago and that the Red Witch was abducting villagers who were involved in the death of her apprentice. Like all others before her, the current Red Witch took on an apprentice to replace her so she eventually escape her mortal coil and become a part of the magical weave around Midgard. To solve the situation characters went into Hel and made a pact with Hela, two, in fact, which reunited the Red Witch and her apprentice were reunited and the natural cycle restored.

Tonight, I had 3 players again, Thor's player returned and was now joined by Loki and Doctor Strange. The Celestial Beauracracy detected an anomaly at the Violet Gate in Svartalfheim and dispatched the Pantheon to investigate the situation in a kind of "pre-crime" scenario ala Minority Report. 

I used Kevin Crawford's excellent tools in Godbound to generate a nice outline for the session and it worked great.

The Beauracracy had allowed the Brotherhood in Bonds, who serve the Shackled God, to take over maintenance on the Violet Gate but various omens pointed to something dangerous occurring there soon.

The trio met the new leader of the Brotherhood, Hyrm, the sentient python advising him (who is also the serpent from Eden), an Oni named Harvey, a heroin-addicted quantum physicist named Kevin, and a blind astronomer named Liz.

The investigation revealed that the former leader of the Brotherhood, Kip Kob Khana was a makluan -- a member of the same alien race as Fin Fang Foom, had masqueraded as a human throughout many centuries until he found a way to use the Violet Gate to take necessary technology to his homeworld so that they could conquer Earth. The trio was able to intercept the Makluan armada at Jupiter and was able to decimate the fleet. The surviving ships insisted on a formal treaty with the Celestial Bureaucracy and the accompanying feast to honor the trio. However, all of that was only a ruse as Kip and their leader, Leng Leng Leng, used the Violet Gate to attack the brotherhood and escape the Dark World.

Doctor Strange went to Alfheim and was met by a trinity of Light Elves while Thor and Loki went to Nidavellir, the Realm of the Dwarves, where they encountered several fallen Dwarves. It was then that Thor and Loki called out to the Sorcerer Supreme who was being attacked by the Light Elves who had allied with the Makluans.

And that is where we ended things.

The plan is to continue things next week.

Masters of the Universe: Webstor for Godbound

     

Webstor

for Godbound Free Edition

AC: 3

HD: 7
Attack: +7 x2

Morale: 8

Move: 30

Save: 12+

Damage: 1d10 piercing, range of 300 feet, magic weapon

Effort: 4

Powers

• All Directions As One

• Disclose the Flaw

• Untouchable

• Verminous Venom

Real Name: Araneus son of Raknus

One of the last remaining members of an ancient Eternian race of Spider Warriors called the Arachna, Webstor™ was awoken from hibernation beneath Snake Mountain and occasionally allies himself with Skeletor®. In ancient times, the Arachna were an advanced dominant race until driven underground by the Snake Men™. Araneus retains much of the knowledge of his people and while seemingly savage, is an expert mathematician and strategist as well as an accomplished escape artist. He often arms himself with a grappling hook Fast Pack and uses his climbing power to escape capture!

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