#RPGDNA

 

Champions 4th Edition is the first RPG I ever played or ran and it made it hard to enjoy other games because I could literally build anything, but I still tried plenty of other RPGs. Our group really enjoyed Champions and it still has a place in my heart. While I've played 5E and read 6E the 4th Edition is my true love.

Growing up I read tons and tons of comics and I also watched tons and tons of action movies. Even in Champions, I kept trying to figure out to inject the action movie's tropes and sequences. Feng Shui showed me how to do that and changed or at least codified who I wanted to be as Game Master.

Legend of the Five Rings was the game that introduced my wife to role-playing and introduced me to a mostly new group of players. I ran at her family's stores and I ran as many as 18 people sometimes (youth is wasted on the young) which eventually burned me out on it. Since I was gaming with new people that hadn't known me forever my confidence as a GM grew dramatically.

While Grognardia introduced me to the OSR I discovered Basic Fantasy, Labyrinth Lord, and Swords and Wizardry at about the same time. I chose it because I actually ponied up to buy four hardcovers of this printing and have bought every other printing made available even though I've never run or played it. SnW led me to discover what I had been missing about DnD for several decades and helped me fall in love with DnD 5th Edition.

OSR: Manaconda for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea

Manacondas for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea

No. Encountered: 1 (2d6)
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Size: L
Movement: 20 (swim 30)
Dexterity: 14
Armour Class: 7
Hit Dice: 2
Attack Rate: 1/1(spear)
Damage: 1d6 (1d8)
Saving Throw: 15
Morale: 9
Experience Points: 30
Treasure Class: P

Manacondas are typically found near lakes and make their homes in underground warrens. They can Climb (10:12), Hide (8:12), and Move Silently (9:12).

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Rifts: Ley Line Walker for Cepheus Atom & Barbaric!

Ley Line Walker: Some sorcerers train their senses to detect the ebb and flow of sorcery along ley lines and the places of power where they converge. If the sorcerer is within 20 feet of a ley line they heal 2 lifeblood points per day. While within 10 feet of a ley line and a Sorcery throw of 7+ a sorcerer may teleport along the ley line up to 30m and attack or move 60m without attacking.

OSR: Fire Vampires for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea

 

No. Encountered: 1
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Size: L
Movement: 60
Dexterity: 16
Armour Class: 3
Hit Dice: 9
Attack Rate: 1/1(fireblast)
Damage: 3d6
Saving Throw: 12
Morale: 10
Experience Points: 1,500

Treasure Class: T

Fire vampires are malign and intelligent beings made from the very essence of the primordial stars that blanket the night sky high above Hyperborea. Cultists of Xathoqqua go to great lengths to excavate cyclopean relics in order to coax the arrival of a fire vampire into their company regardless of the fact that the creature's arrival almost assuredly incinerates the entire cult in the process. 

Once brought to Hyperborea the creature allows its light to slowly fade so it can ambush wanderers where it delights in watching their prey burn to mere ash and bone. 

If one is wandering in unfamiliar places a common sign of the fire vampire is a black-as-night burn on the ground and the remains of fleshy feet and their accompying bones. You have been warned.

Rifts: Coaltion SAMAS Power Armor for Cepheus Atom

   

Coalition SAMAS Power Armor 

for Cepheus Atom

• Gauss rifle 4D (Auto) damage (Range of 300/6000)

• Protection 12

• Integrated gas mask, communicator, 

   night-vision goggles, and rad suit

• No heavy armor penalty

• Flying speed of 30m per combat round

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Monstrous Monday: Wendigo for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.

No. Encountered: 1
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Size: L
Movement: 90
Dexterity: 18
Armour Class: 4
Hit Dice: 5
Attack Rate: 3/1(claw/claw/gore)
Damage: 1d6+1/1d6+1/2d8
Saving Throw: 10
Morale: 11
Experience Points: 250

Treasure Class: X

A wendigo is made when a person commits cannibalism and the land itself, Hyperborea, curses their very existence. They may Hide (10:12), Move Silently (7:12), and Imitate a Voice (10:12). Upon seeing the wendigo for the first time a person must make a Sorcerery Save or experience a fear effect (as the spell).

Star Frontiers: Dralasites for Cepheus Quantum

Dralasite for Cepheus Quantum
They are short, rubbery aliens that have no bones or hard body parts. Their skin is a flexible membrane that is very tough and scratchy. It generally is dull gray and lined with dark veins that meet at the dralasite's two eyespots. The internal structure of a dralasite is very different from the other races. The dralasite's central nerve bundle (brain), numerous small hearts, and other internal organs float in a pudding-like mixture of protein and organic fluids. Dralasites breathe by absorbing oxygen directly through their skin, so they have no lungs. They are omnivores but eat by surrounding their food and absorbing it, so they also have no digestive tract or intestines. 

At the beginning of each turn they may choose to benefit from one of the following options: gain the Contortionist trait, gain the Runner trait, gain unarmed damage of 2D, or gain a natural armor rating of 3.