Shadowdark & Gamma World

 

I ran the Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur and the Players made it through about 1/2 of the dungeon. 

It went well. 

I did lower HP for the ettercaps but I made a giant blunder by forgetting to limit what could be seen by torchlight. Yeah, it actually slipped my mind that it was total darkness beyond Near. I guess I was just in the DnD mindet. It really reduced the effectiveness of the bull statues.

However, there were some clever Player ideas and we had fun.

I hope I get to finish it but we have been able to play the Vecna game recently and are in Eberron, our DM's favorite setting.

I've been thinking a lot about Gamma World.

I've been reading GW 3E and really dig the chart. I don't know if if came before or after Marvel Super Heroes or Conan though.

A buddy of mine owned GW 4E and it holds some nostalgia for that reason. It reminds me of a sort of Pre-DnD 3E experiment but I don't know if the timing lines up right for that.

I think GW 7E is the best implementation of DnD 4E and I just love it.

However, I've been looking at using Dragonbane to run GW. I really think the d20 roll under mechanic is my overall favorite and it probably stems from Ability checks in ADnD 2E. I'm working on Skill list and Heroic Abilities for it. I'll see if I can post some of my ideas soon.

Shadowdark: The Citadel on the Borderlands

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 Backers of the Western Reaches KS in late August. 

While I was reading over the adventure an idea struck me that I could use it as the legendary Keep on the Borderlands for ongoing adventures. Will the survivors care about the unknown that lies within the Borderlands? Maybe they take over the Citadel and turn it into a Bastion (from the Player's Guide to the Western Marches which has been released to KS backers too)? Maybe they just decide to explore the Reaches? At least I have options.

While my Friday group is currently playing through 5E's Vecna campaign (I'm a sucker for the Rod of 7 Parts) we have at least one session a month where we need a different option due to schedule conflicts or a week where that DM is just needs a break. I'd be glad to turn this into the second game option for us. I have a lot of interest in hex crawling the Western Reaches but that book isn't quite ready though it seems likely we will get it digitally by the end of September.

 

X marks the spot!

 

I've been thinking of where to place the Citadel and the most logical spot is on the Southeasterly edge of the map below Alkesh. The Citadel would be below that unlabeled village/town circled on the map. I'm thinking the Citadel would be a few days ride South and that town would be a place to rest up, carouse, train, and sell loot.

It appears the unnamed location will, in fact, have a name when the Game Master's Guide to the Western Reaches is sent out to Backers. Whether I homebrew the town or use the official version will end up being decided by what information is available to me when the PC's reach there.

Now all I have to do is run the adventure and keep developing my ideas. No pressure, right?

Shadowdark: House Rules for ArkhamDark

 

I had taken a break from Shadowdark but receiving the PDF of the Premium Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur adventure has brought back. I was looking through ArkhamDark because I'm always looking for resources to run Ravenloft's Masque of the Red Death setting and enjoyed it. 

There are a couple areas that have me thinking about homebrewing. First, the author adjusted Difficulty Classes for some reason and I'm pondering why. I really like the math in Shadowdark and have found it works brilliantly in play. Of the many lessons to learn as a Dungeon Master having clear and consistent DC's really lightens the cognitive load so I will probably stick with SD's DCs when I run AarkhamDark.

Second, Skill Aptitudes replace Background but don't grant Advantage like that latter and it occurs to me that the Fighter's Combat Mastery could be an easy mechanic to model.  Under my House Rule Skill Aptitude would grant a bonus of half your level (round down) + 1 and will definitely be testing it.

I want to reinforce that I recommend this product and it has some great ideas. The reason I love the OSR is its DIY nature and the rulings over rules. ArkhamQuest is a good product. If you want a taste of how it handles occupations there are free downloads for the Occultist and the Soldier. There is also a text version of the rules at a significant discount.

Rifts' Mega-Damage for Cypher Option 2

After posting about using mega-damage in Cypher a user on Reddit, Prof_Xaos gave me a better idea:

Mega-damage weapons inflict Major wounds.

Mega-damage armor ignores minor and moderate wounds. 

Pretty neat and very easy.

As an asymmetrical system I don't need to alter damage from PCs. 

Rifts' Mega-Damage for Cypher 2E

• Mega-damage weapons inflict an additional 9 points of damage to an NPC or an additional 9 points of Might damage to a PC.

• Mega-damage armor reduces mega-damage weapons’ additional damage to 0.

I've been toiling at this for days. I've had some great feedback on Reddit and the Cypher Unlimited Discord that has been truly helpful. Part of the reason I want to run Rifts in Cypher 2nd Edition is because of the various eccentricities of the Palladium Megaverse and the rules that power it, but it is a staple of the settings so I felt compelled to tackle it. The rules are rooted in Power Shifts and a weapons mega-damage or M.D. is three Shifts. 

What I like about this solution is it is a toggle. You can simply ignore it and just play C2 or you can activate it and a weapon's damage is similar for PCs or NPCs and a being in mega-damage armor just ignores the extra damage. 

Rifts' SAMAS Pilot for Cypher 2E

SAMAS Pilot   5 (15) 

Health: 15 

Damage Inflicted: Major wound

Armor: 7 

Movement: Long 

Modifications: Initiative and Dodge at level 6 

Combat: SAMAS pilots tend to operate as scouts and the tip of the spear. 

• Rail Gun: long range magnetic rifle 

• Wrist Missile Pod: Several missiles streak toward the target as an action. The target and all other creatures within short range must succeed on a Dodge roll or take a moderate wound. Once deployed the pod needs to be reloaded before being used again.

Avionics: The SAMAS can fly at speeds up to 150 miles per hour.

The Essence of SAMAS Pilots

SAMAS pilots have had a resurgence of interest from new recruits due to the popularity of the propaganda film Tip of the Spear starring Lt. Kip Lakewood, better known by his callsign, Liger, within the Coalition States. The film tells the story Lakewood’s role in the fictional Battle of Emmercrest and omits that his mother, Coraline Putnam-Lakewood, is the Carnifex of Chi-Town’s Borough 3, and used her sway to get him in the program after being rejected. The SAMAS program leads the CS forces in troop losses as the pilots are tasked with flying at very high speeds at low altitudes as scouts and advanced operations in hostile theaters of operation. They are often called "banshees" by other CS troops because when "you hear them someone is going to die and odds are pretty even its the SAMAS pilot". "Bullet" is another common nickname.

Rifts' Skelebots for Cypher 2nd Edition

Skelebot   2 (6) 

Health: 6 

Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound 

Optional Mega-Damage Inflicted: Major wound

Armor: 2 

Movement: Long 

Modifications: Initiative at level 3; Perception at level 4 

Combat: Skelebots are led by Dead Boy NCOs (see below). 

• Standard Energy Weapon: Uses long range energy rifle. 

• Vibro-Blade: The blade is stored in its left arm and deals            moderate wound

 

The Essence of Skelebots

The Coalition States deploys skelebots, which are cheap to make, as hunter-killers whose mission parameters are focused on mass extermination as opposed to pacification. While units are commanded by small groups of Dead Boys the androids are best described as bringing a chainsaw to a knife fight. Their OS has few guardrails beyond don’t kill Coalition personnel without authorization and try not to kill Coalition citizens. Rumors insist that their voice module is based off of Chairman Joseph Prosek I.

Dead Boy NCO   4 (12) 

Health: 12 

Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (M.D. weapon)

Armor: 4 (M.D. armor)

Movement: Short 

Modifications: Cybernetics and Mechanic at level 5

Combat: Dead Boy Skelebot squad leaders are veterans with at least 1 tour in a warzone and advanced training in cybernetic systems and mechanical repairs.
• Standard Energy Weapon: Uses long range energy rifle