What drew me to Monte Cook Games' Numenera/Cypher System was the Adjective Noun Verb description of your character. How cool is it to brainstorm what you are going to play by coming up with a Brave Glaive (warrior) who has a Halo of Fire?
While the Cypher System isn't a difficult system to learn, it has a few problems that have kept me from running it more. The first is that Effort both fuels your attempts at overcoming obstacles, activating powers, and functions as hit points as well. It's just not my bag.
Last night, while looking over Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, an idea hit me like a bullet in the head. Power it with Savage Worlds.
The adjective "Brave" in the above example gives a +2 bonus to tests. Rate your Noun or Verb with a d6 and rate the remaining descriptor with a d8. I choose Glaive for d8 and Halo of Fire at a d6. Everything else defaults to a d4, and characters are Wild Cards, so they roll a d6 with every test, except damage, too.
I'm not defaulting to d4-2 because I want a more heroic game, but that would be an option. Importing wounds and equipment from SWADE allows you to even mine your verb from it too, though I will be more comfortable with a more wing-it approach during play.
We are just starting a 5.5 game, so I'm not sure when I will get to it, but I'll keep you posted.
Hamilton Fox, a con man and drug dealer, had dreamed of becoming an Olympic runner for as long as he could remember. Sadly, he was willing to do anything to be the best and was caught using performance enhancing drugs and banned from competing any further.
Blaming everyone but himself he fell in with the wrong crowd and began dealing drugs before being caught and doing time in the Holloway Detention Center on the outskirts of Opal City. It was there that he met Joseph Klein who took him under his wing. When Klein was released he told Fox to look him up for a job when he got out.
Hamilton did just that 18 months later when he found Klein working for the crime syndicate known as the One-Thousand and serving as a trusted right hand for the Mist who was in charge of operations in Opal City. Two years later, after proving himself loyal and reliable, the Mist asked Fox if he would be interested in an experiment that could give him superpowers and without a moment's hesitation he told her he was in.
The 1,000 had put a member of the Dominator species known as Gunther in touch with a new iteration of H.I.V.E.. Gunther had defected to Earth during its Invasion by a coalition of aliens. The Dominator's research involved unlocking the metagene and he and two other subjects underwent the procedure.
Hamilton was really lucky. He only had flu-like symptoms for a couple of days before his super speed manifested while the other two subjects died very, very painful deaths.
The Mist has been training Fox in the use of his powers and he has taken up the codename the Crime Wave. She's been having him operate in Hub City to save him as secret weapon when the time is right. Fox is running faster than ever and is enjoying the rush.
You can download a PDF for Crime Wave here.
I used the excellent Savaged.us to build him at Power Level II.
I'm still taking a break from Deadlands on Tuesdays and we are beginning an Icons game set in the DC...uh...Multiverse...I guess? The PCs are working for Power Co. in Opal City and are dealing with a new version of HIVE led by Cheshire.
I've spent the last few months looking at games I want to run such as Shadowdark, Dragonbane, Basic Role Playing, Hero's Journey, Castle Falkenstein, Fantasy AGE, Hero System 6E, and even Pathfinder 2E. I think whatever I run it won't have a d20 in it. I love the OSR and still love 5E, even though I despise Wizards of the Coast, but I just need some time away from both of them. I think I'm going to focus on Savage Worlds since my biggest grip against it was the Wound system which is no longer the case and I really like a bunch of its settings: Deadlands, Battlelords of the 23rd Century, Rippers Resurrected, 50 Fathoms, Saga of Solomon Kane, Flash Gordon, Pathfinder, and Lankhmar. I'm contemplating a setting like Rifts Earth (though I don't want to run SW Rifts yet), Deadland's Hunting Grounds...something where people from all over find themselves in the same place or the setting just makes room for all of them like Numenera's 9th World a billion years in the future but without the Cyphers.. Basically, I'd just lay out all of the Seasoned Archetypes for SWADE and let people pick their characters. I love what Pinnacle is doing with the Archetype, Powers, Chase, Status, and Ally/Adversary cards. I also have a Rippers Resurrected mixed with Ravenloft's Masque of the Red Death game in mind but when don't I have a million ideas? So little time. Sigh.
I'd like to do some "OSR stuff" for Savage Worlds like I started with Death's Head Keep earlier this year but I'm going to be realistic and see what happens. I don't think I just want to make antagonists and might focus on setting material and even side quests.
I guess we will see what November and December hold.
Be well.
A PDF of this SideQuest is available here.
Outside the city of Denver is a small, family cemetery hidden amongst the woods of a blue spruce forest. No one remembers the Dobson family in the area if asked, but they will lose every ounce of friendliness if outsiders are foolish enough to inquire about the tomb or any other strange things in the area. Only, Bringham Polk, a drunk trapper who lives closest to the cemetery is willing to open up about the place and only if some booze is made readily available to him.
After his third or fourth whiskey Brig, as his Ma called him, will tell you about the strange screeches that can be heard several nights a month around the boneyard, the death of livestock of all kinds throughout the year, and those nights when the Moon is nowhere to be seen and not quite human things that knock on his windows, rattle his locked doors, climb upon his roof, and try to crawl down his chimney. By the time Brig gets around to this last bit the man is terrified and heads over to the Sherif’s office to dry out in a cell. Coincidentally, there is no Moon that night.
When its found the vines, creepers, and roots of the forest seem to shy away from the ominous stone building and here are several things about it that are off-putting. First, the doorway is just a tad to narrow and short for most people and no one can read the bone white letters of some strange language that spells out “VKTUURM circa 2241” etched above the door.
There is a single coffin on a stone slab within the tomb and it uncovered and empty with the lid missing completely. Covered in a heavy layer of dust is a golden necklace with a long attached. On a successful Common Knowledge check the observers believes it is a human tooth.
Each corner of the interior features a gargoyle crouched and ready to strike and a successful Occult check reveals them to be examples of Ghuls from Middle-Eastern folklore.
A successful Notice check finds a narrow hidden door in the far left corner leading down. Posse members with the Brawny edge are too large to enter the door.
A worn set of hand holds takes the Posse down about 30’ before opening into a large chamber and utter darkness. Using a torch or other light source reveals a dirt floor and scattered bones of all kinds. A terrible stink pervades the whole area and is a mixture of a heavy musk and feces. A Notice check reveals 2 Dobson Family Ghuls almost completely buried in the walls of this chamber and breathing very shallowly. A roll of 1 on the Notice trait die awakens both Ghuls who attack and screech for the rest of their nest. If the Ghuls are not awakened then Posse members have The Drop on them.
Dobson Family Ghul
Parry 7 | Tough 7 | Pace 6 (d6) |
Ag d10, Sm d4, Sp d6, St d8, Vi d10 |
Athletics d10 | Fighting d10 (d8+d4)
Notice d8 | Stealth d8 | Survival d10 |
Edges Arcane Resistance, Beast Bond,
Calculating, Free Runner, Grit,
Special Abilities Burrow, Fear (Those who see them must make a Fear Check), Low-Light Vision (No penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination), Weakness: Light (-2 to all Trait Rolls in light brighter than a torch)
A narrow tunnel opens up to the left and after about 30’ splits to the right and left.
Taking the right-hand tunnel leads to another chamber that is barely large enough to hold the entire Posse and has scattered piles of various items and includes 1 dagger, 1 Colt Peacemaker, 1 calvary saber, 4 children’s toys, and $40. Another Notice check reveals 2 adult Ghuls and 3 Ghoul children. Once again, a 1 on the Notice die awakens the creatures and sleeping Ghuls gives the Posse The Drop.
If the left-hand tunnel is selected it is 50’ long and opens into the smallest chamber yet. There is enough room for 2 Posse members at most and a woman with wild and long silver hair, naked and her belly swollen with child, lies in the center of the floor with her left arm buried in the dirt up to her elbow. Both Mother Dobson and her mate, whose hand she is holding and who is lying buried beneath her, Father Dobson can be awoken just like the other Ghuls and if they are asleep the Posse has The Drop on them.
Father Dobson Ghul
Parry 7 | Tough 7 | Pace 6 (d6) |
Ag d10, Sm d4, Sp d8, St d10, Vi d10 |
Athletics d10 | Fighting d10 (d10+d4)
Notice d8 | Stealth d8 | Survival d10 |
Edges Arcane Resistance, Beast Bond,
Calculating, Free Runner, Grit,
Special Abilities Burrow, Fear (Those who see them must make a Fear Check), Low-Light Vision (No penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination), Weakness: Light (-2 to all Trait Rolls in light brighter than a torch)
Mother Dobson
Wild Card
Parry 6 | Tough 6 | Pace 6 (d6) |
Ag d8, Sm d8, Sp d10, St d6, Vi d8 |
Athletics d8 | Fighting d8 (d6+d4)
Notice d8 | Stealth d8 | Survival d10 |
Edges Brawler, Command Presence, Ferver, Improved Beast Bond, Master Tactician
Special Abilities Burrow, Low-Light Vision (No penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination)
Within this chamber is the Dobson Family Bible with a letter from Lilith Whately congratulating her niece, Pandora, on her engagement to Ibraham Dobson. There is an old and weathered copy of the dreaded Liber Des Goules which contains a cypher for the language used on the outside of the tomb known as Enoy and a written history of the Dobson clan here in the U.S.
Noah "Tynee" Woodburn is a Pregenerated Seasoned Troll Merc for Sprawlrunners, an excellent Savage Worlds version of Shadowrun.
I made Tynee with the Savage.us site that I cannot recommend enough and it already features the SWADE Fantasy and Supers Companions with Horror on the way!
You can Download Tynee as a PDF here.
You can Download the PDF here.
The Red Tiger Gang is led by Tigress Hepburn, the daughter of Frances "Trapper" Hepburn who rode with several gangs in the 1870s. Tigress' Mother, Acorn, died in child birth and she was literally raised by gangs her father rode with. After her Dad got gunned down in Dodge City, she found herself working with her "Uncle", Frank Perth and Robert "Red" Dobbins who both think of her as their daughters. Due to the backward view of some bandits and hired guns Tigress posed as a young man and was known by strangers as "Tiger". Smart and surprisingly well-read most who rode with Tigress quickly found enough success to look past the fact that she was "the fairer sex" and those stupid enough to give her unwanted attention had to deal with first her and then Uncle Frank and Red.
The Posse is tracking down the Red Tigers who are wanted for several murders in the area over the last 4 months. The Gang is working for the Bayou Vermillion rail company dealing with folks who won't accept the Baron's offer for their land. There is bounty of $200 each for all 8 members of the Gang.
The entrance to the caves the Tigers use as a hideout is guarded by Uncle Frank Perth and his gatling rifle, Birdie (she has been modified to carry double the amount of rounds). Frank uses a wooden crate as a seat, there are two sets of lanterns mounted to each side of the cave, and a small wooden table holds a cup of oily black coffee.
Uncle Frank Perth
Wild Card
Parry 7 | Tough 7 (1) | Pace 6 (d6) |
Ag d8, Sm d8, Sp d6, St d10, Vi d8 |
Athletics d8 | Fighting d10
Notice d8 | Shooting d10 (2d8, 24/48/96,
AP 2, RoF 3, 60 Shots) | Stealth d8 |
Edges Improved Rapid Fire, Rock and Roll!
Quirks Shaving cuts on face
The cave branches to the right and left.
Heading to the right leads to a chamber with four rough tables with a poker deck on the closest. Under one of the tables lies a woman who pleads for help when the Posse enter. Her arms and legs are bound with heavy rope. Her face is dirty, she has no shoes, and she is wearing a denim dress that is heavily scuffed. She quickly tells them , "A bunch of 'em are out hunting, hurry get free me before they make it back!"
She will identify herself as Diane Hope and claims the outlaws killed her husband and kidnapped her two days ago. In reality, she is the gang's leader, Tigress Hepburn, and she heard the scuffle with Uncle Frank and tied herself up and sent the other Tigers into the next chamber to ambush the intruders. She has a derringer and a knife on her.
Diane Hope AKA Tigress Hepburn
Wild Card
Parry 7 | Tough 7 (1) | Pace 8 (d8) |
| Ag d12, Sm d10, Sp d6, St d6, Vi d10 |
Athletics d8 | Fighting d6 (d6+d4) |
Intimidation d10 | Notice d10 |
Persuasion d10 | Shooting d10 (2d4,
3/6/12, RoF 1, 2 Shots) | Stealth d8 | Taunt d10 |
Edges Command Presence, Level Headed,
Natural Leader
Quirks Missing pinky on left hand.
The next chamber has a bear-skinned rug and 3 crates containing whiskey, a bag of mail, and several empty money bags. The two tables in this room are tipped over and being used as cover by 5 Red Tigers. "Drop your weapons and we'll talk about how you might make it out alive!", yells a man with flaming red hair and beard aiming 2 peacemakers at the Posse.
"Diane" will make sure to stay behind the characters and in the previous the chamber they "rescued" her from. She won't act on the first round of combat but will attack the Posse on the second round. She is loyal to her gang but if things look bad for them before attacking she will continue her ruse until she can escape and then gain revenge.
Shooting in the cave can be dangerous due to ricochets and if an attacker rolls a1 on their Shooting die and fails their attack roll, draw a card, if it is a Diamond draw a card for each person in the chamber and whoever has the lowest card is hit by the ricocheting bullet.
5 Red Tiger Bandits
Parry 7 | Tough 7 (1) | Pace 6 (d6) |
| Ag d6, Sm d6, Sp d6, St d8, Vi d6 |
Athletics d8 | Fighting d6 |
Shooting d8 (2d6+1, 12/24/48, AP 1,
RoF 1, 0 Shots) | Stealth d6 |
The cave take a sharp turn to the left toward the largest chamber yet. There are 7 bed rolls in here and the last 1/4 of the chamber is separated by quilts hung on clothesline to give Tigress privacy from the rest of her gang. While the Posse searches this chamber she stay close to the entrance and will be looking for a chance to make a run for it if the Posse has killed the Uncle Frank and the other 5 Tigers. Once the Posse begins inspecting Tigress’ belongings a successful Common Knowledge roll will clue them into her lie and she will not surrender for any reason, she'd rather die then be hung or go to jail.
There is a deep niche in the wall near her bedroll where there is $100 in cash and 4 ounces of Ghost Rock. After searching the whole chamber the Posse also finds an additional $80 in cash, a ruby engagement ring, 1 stick of TNT, 3 dime novels, and a copy of Hoyle's Book of Games that is missing close to 20 pages.
If the Posse takes a left instead of the right at the split after about 5 minutes they find dead end with numerous bones, animal, human, and…other critters scattered on the chamber floor. A successful Notice roll at -2 will reveal a carcajou, a wolverine-like creature that the Gang has chained up in here. The chain has 15' of slack and this chamber is 45' long and 30' wide.
Carcajou
Parry 9 | Tough 10 (1) | Pace 10 (d10) |
Ag d10, Sm d4 (A), Sp d12, St d10, Vi d12 |
Athletics d10 | Fighting d12+2 (d12+d6+2, AP 2 | Intimidation d10 | Notice d8 | Stealth d12 |
Survival d8 | Edges Improved Frenzy,
Quick, Rabble-Rouser | Special Abilities
Fearless, Hardy, Size -1
Quirks Missing left eye
Wild Card
Parry 6 | Tough 8 | Pace 10 (d10) |
Athletics d6 | Fighting d10
(claws d6 + d4) | Shooting d6 |
Spellcasting d10 | Intimidation d8,
Notice d8, Stealth d8 | Ag d8, Sm d10,
Sp d10, St d6, Vi d6 | Edges Arcane
Background (Magic), Improved
Arcane Resistance, Level Headed |
Special Abilities Undead, Wall Walker |
Power Points 20 | Powers Arcane Protection,
Blind, Bolt, Confusion, Dispel,
Drain Power Points, Havoc, Fear, Fly,
Mirror Self, Protection, Shape Change
I have always had a soft spot for fantasy city settings like Lankhmar, Sanctuary, Ankh-Morpork, and the City-State of the Invisible Overlord and in the early days of this blog I created Jarlsburg, my ode to each of them.
Recently, the City Guard Chronicles: The Case of the Misguided Lover was released by Jan Jetmar and Cyril Ronseaux for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition and I purchased it immediately. It was an easy decision as both have done excellent fantasy supplements for SWADE such as Tomes and Prayers, Wand Magic, and Wizards and Mystics.
The product comes in at 37 pages and gives you an overview of The City and ideas on which cities it would be in settings like Golarion, Eberron, and Hellfrost.
What follows is a tale of murder, betrayal, demonic pacts, and vengeance that is clearly laid out on a timeline starting 9 days before the adventure begins (what a great tool). The organization and lay-out are great for an over-busy Game Master and the scenes it shares leave plenty of room for any improvisation that might be necessary.
I don't want to give the plot away but I think it nails an investigative approach that paints those involved with enough complexity that their varies crimes are relatable and and layered.
I've been looking for a Savage Worlds setting I can run on nights our primary GM is unavailable and this is a great way to kick off a return to Jarlsburg for me and I can't wait for more City Guard Chronicles.
The door from Room 17 leads here.
You walk into a kitchen that is dimly lit by an enchantment worked into the stones of a huge hearth. A cast-iron cauldron, shaped into the smiling face of the Godmother, dominates the entire room.
The door from Room 16 leads here.
A long hallway with windows on both sides that reveal an infinite night filled with stars.
The door from Room 15 leads here.
A landing with stairs going up and down lie before you.
The left door from Room 14 leads here.
The wall to the right is covered in a bright yellow hive that throbs to a silent beat.
The left door from Room 10 leads here.
A huge grandfather clock is placed against the left wall this room.
A square cage pushes so close to each wall that there is just enough room to squeeze around its edges.
A blazing inferno roars in a pit that dominates this room.
Their weapons glow white hot as the azsers they move in close.
Hralda Brightspear
Parry 7 | Tough 9 (3) | Pace 6 (d6) |
Athletics d8 | Fighting d8 + 1
(spear d8 + d6 + 1) | Shooting d6 |
Ag d8, Sm d8, Sp d6, St d8, Vi d8 |
Edges Frenzy | Special Abilities
Damage Field 2d4, Immunity to fire
Azer
Parry 7 | Tough 8 (3) | Pace 6 (d6) |
Athletics d6 | Fighting d8 (warhammer
d8 + d6) | Shooting d6 | Ag d6, Sm d6,
Sp d6, St d6, Vi d6 | Special Abilities
Damage Field 2d4, Immunity to fire
This room is oval with a dais in the middle and an archway standing empty upon it.
A hallway turns to the right and after about 50’ has three short steps leading.
After the steps two doors are set in far wall. One to the right and one to the left.
Sitting vigilantly above both doors in the center of the wall is a gargoyle.
Kerna
Wild Card
Parry 4 | Tough 11 (4) | Pace 4 (d4) |
Athletics d10 | Fighting d4-2 |
Shooting d4-2 | Ag d6, Sm d4, Sp d8,
St d10, Vi d10 | Edges Alertness,
Brute, Improved Arcane Resistance,
Improved Block, Iron Jaw |
Special Abilities Armor 4, Flight
(Pace 10)
I hope to be running the Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur this Friday and I'll be using the Premium version that was released to Ba...
