5lippers

Re: Urban Fantasy Setting: Here There Be Monsters Hi Shrike, Panpiper, I’ve got a couple of NPC character concepts for you. They’re not full-blown write-ups, but are stubs. Feel free to run with them / build on them. I'll try and develop them a bit more, but i'm more than happy for you guys to do that same... Panpiper: I gave your Zombie bus it's very own "stalker" - hope you don't mind! Hugo Glamour (stage name) Timothy Gilmour, also known as "Hugo Glamour" when on stage, is an extremely talented, but intensely misanthropic, medium. Timothy was originally born in Surrey, England but moved to Vegas for reasons unspecified. For whatever reason, Timothy works the strip, seemingly determined to cultivate the image of a shabby, psychic, stage charlatan who swindles people who-should-know-better out of their hard earned cash with vague, cheesy and pretty unbelievable messages from ‘beyond the grave’. Occasionally, when takings for his shows are down, Timothy will use his abilities properly to renew people’s enthusiasm just enough to keep him on minimum wage. Timothy’s actually quite infamous because of a clip on Youtube which features him making an utter fool of himself when he singles out a member of the audience and, after the usual drama and showmanship, informs her that he is receiving a psychic message from her dead husband. The lady plays along before revealing that she has never been married before and her husband is actually sat next to her. It’s a pretty rookie mistake for a stage medium to make, hence the epic number of Youtube hits. The irony of the incident is that Timothy was actually using his powers properly at the time and that the woman had actually been married before, but couldn’t remember [Note to Hunters: presumed suspicious - Casefile still under investigation]. Apparently, the woman’s first husband was trying to forewarn her of her impending death at the hands of her second husband. Needless to say, the unfortunate lady is now deceased and, despite the air of indifference that Timothy surrounds himself in, the incident seems to have affected him deeply. Jimmy Hunt Jimmy is an ex-cop who has been following the Zombie Bus around for the past year. Despite having no evidence, Jimmy is convinced that something is amiss with the passengers on the bus. He has absolutely no idea why he thinks this, he just knows something is wrong. Jimmy’s obsession started a year or so ago when he bumped into Dorothy Michaels. A few weeks later, Dorothy ended up filing a complaint against Jimmy which resulted in him losing his job. Jimmy is becoming increasingly frustrated at not being able to work out what’s amiss, especially since his police training and experience should have equipped him for this! Jimmy has started to exhibit classic stalker behaviour [note: I have absolutely no idea what that might be, but it sounds good - 5lippers] but his motivation is only to uncover the mystery of the bus and not something more sinister. Jimmy doesn’t see anything weird in his behaviour and would be surprised, and possibly shocked, if someone not-of-the-bus flagged this to him. Jimmy may have had some sort of zombie-experience when he was a child and this may be behind his instincts. Jimmy cannot consciously remember the event and puts his gut-feeling down to nothing more than training. 5.

Re: Collaborative World Ending… Hi All, Well, this setting isn’t quite what I originally had in mind and it might be a little on the mad side, but I’m going to run with it and see what happens! Interested to hear any thoughts you all might have and thanks for the ideas / inspiration so far Below are some notes on the setting – not all of these things will be in the campaign at the start but will appear over time. Language/Tone/Themes. I think the setting is going to end up with a slight anti-establishment feel: those that seize power and try to rebuild are going to be fairly ruthless. Some might be evil, but others might be idealists, amoral or just misguided in their convictions. It’s definitely going to be pulp, possibly with a hint of Victoriana so I’ll try and use language that reflects this (even if it’s made up and just sounds pulpy or Victorian!) I'll also try to write notes and campaign info in a way that captures the attitude and feel of the setting. The setting isn’t Earth, but it could be if you wanted it to be. What’s left of society might be backwards-looking, mourning what was lost rather than forward-looking. Overview Notes / Thoughts The world before was non magical The world before was fairly advanced, possibly steampunk level (N.B. This would be weird science steampunk, not magi-tech). This is purely because a non-magical world means no Ancient Artefact of Woss' Name (guarded by a mighty creature known as Markdoc ), magic gear or things to scavenge and fix which might not suit all the players. In Year Zero a highly contagious magical "plague" appears from nowhere. The plague somehow spreads from creature to creature, sowing chaos. Creatures who are infected become "hyper aware" conduits of magical energy which they cannot control. The energy is dangerous and warping. Something Taken, Something Given: for every ‘gift’ that the plague bestowed upon a creature, it took something away. What was taken will later be bestowed upon another creature. Whether this is by accident or design will remain a mystery. After a certain period of time, the surviving creatures start to regain some control over the plague: subconsciously, they learn to suppress their hyper-awareness. The twisted warping effects of the plague remain though. I’ll probably knock-up a quick "future history" of the world which will act as a timeline / guide for events that are happening whilst the players are struggling through the apocalypse. It’s not meant to constrain players from shaping the new world but provide a general guide as to when certain things appear / happen. Races No 'traditional' fantasy races (sorry!). There will be “pureblood” humans (as they call themselves) who are magically inert and were thus unaffected by the plague. It from these ranks that the zealots mentioned above will appear. It is unlikely that these guys will be playable (not without a really, really good character concept, at least) as they despise/fear “the impure” and would be unlikely to hang around with them getting up to the kinds of things PCs get up to. Their magical inertness means they can never learn magic, but they do possess the ability to suppress/drain it. There will be norms who got off quite lightly and were only changed ever so slightly by the plague. They can have a limited set of ‘mutations’ but they’re heavily capped. On the plus side, the purebloods might mistake a norm for one of themselves therefore sparing them from eradication. There will be Twists who are basically more ‘mutated’ than the norms. They get a slightly higher AP limit on mutations. The Purebloods really don't like Twists. Mutations must be reasonably mutant-y. Night vision and weird eyes are fine, but eyes that shoot lightning are probably not. This is because if you want to shoot lighting from your eyes, you need to take “herbal suppressants” and ‘do magic’ (see below). Magic The reason people are no longer walking magical disasters is because the subconscious somehow learnt to adapt to, and suppress, the heightened awareness of the plague. The only way people can regain this awareness is to use a herb/natural drug to suppress the subconscious block enough to channel some magic. The herb is addictive, illegal (because it’s for magic, which no one likes and everyone blames for what happened), and sufficiently rare that it grows only under certain conditions. Although the herb is rare, it’s still common enough and cheap enough to allow players to ‘top up’ between adventures. I'm not sure at what point, or how, the effects of the plant get discovered. Magic is dangerous and channelling it can have unfortunate side effects (warping, corrupting, maddening, etc). Everyone (except other magic wielders) has a grudge against magic users and blames them for what happened (well they blame the gods too - in fact, most people are pretty good at blaming things and do so on a regular basis). As a matter of fact, magic users don’t really like each other either as they see a potential rival / threat /competitor in other users. The nature of magic means that hanging around with mages is a fairly dangerous past-time. Religion I’m not sure where to go with yet, but I’m thinking that the survivors will blame the gods for the disaster and may even outlaw religion. Thus worship becomes something that takes place secretly. I think i’ll try and work some of Markdoc’s great cult ideas into here somehow. I’m also not quite sure what religion will do in game terms. One idea might be that the gods reward those that have remained faithful with the ability to call upon their aid from time to time. Aid will take the form of one of the gods “signature creatures” appearing and assisting. I think I’ll go down the Valdorian route here with definite bonuses on the summon power rewarded to those PCs who have been especially pious in following their patron's teachings. No idea on what the gods will be but, since the magic probably won’t be domain-based, this might be an opportunity to use Greyhawk-style gods who embody certain philosophies/values. Technology Magic and technology won’t be mutually exclusive but will interfere with each other. Channeling near a device will make it unreliable and possessing tech upon one’s person may put a temporary AP limit on spell casting. To Do: Come up with better names for norms and twists. Come up with a really, really cool campaign name – this one’s up for grabs if you fine people have some suggestions! Come up with a really, really cool name for the subconscious-suppressing herb/drug that mages use – this one’s up for grabs too! Determine the exact magical mechanism and side effects. It’ll probably use a VPP but it definitely won’t be cosmic! Rep everyone who’s ideas I’ve pinched, used, been inspired by. Any thoughts? 5.

Re: Collaborative World Ending… Hi Mark, Thanks for taking the time to go through your campaign ideas in detail – it’s really helping me get a campaign idea started (I’ll post the idea later today, if I get chance - it’s gone a bit “pulpy” rather than traditional fantasy but hopefully people will still enjoy the concept!) I’m one of those weird people that doesn’t really buy setting books but the more I read/hear about the Valdorian Age, the more I like the sound of it (Hero Store here I come…). Players summoning beings and then being made to roleplay/persuade said summoned being to FB thine enemies is a great a take on magic and I bet it’s more satisfying for the player rather than saying “I cast one of my five memorised fireballs at the hoard of Kobolds”. Anyway, the info/campaign that will follow is best described as “pulpy, punky, kissmy[censored] fantasy”… Here are some flavour strap-lines: Crazy, drug-using magical outlaws Zealotic (just made it up, not even on Urban Dictionary yet - think psychotic zealots), isolationist pure-bloods on a clean up mission Fragile, fledgling communities just trying to get by (Secret cults out to blame someone ... well anyone really.) 5. P.S. sorry for the tease…

Re: Collaborative World Ending… Hi Mark, I really like your systems (***frantically scribbling down notes***) – I love the way they encourage ‘flavourful’ casters rather than utility casters and come packaged with obligations to the temple/cult, etc. Ever since the days of playing WHFR*, I’ve always liked magic that play risk off against reward: it’s a really nice approach to tackling those PCs that, despite your best efforts as a GM, use magic as a solution to everything! As an aside one of the ideas I was (theoretically) playing around with for Esoterica (http://www.killershrike.info/AllPages.aspx?Cat=Esoterica) was using the aid power to represent a type of dark pact (rather than a unique magic system) that could be used by any caster with a skill-based magic system (there’s quite a lot of magic in Esoterica due to the nature of the setting). The basic idea was that the Aid boosted the casters magic skill but at the cost of some extra END and the risk of ‘corrupting’ side effects. I didn’t get much further than that but was thinking along similar lines to your ‘corruption points’: after a certain threshold the character starts to manifest all sorts of nasty complications (physical, mental and social). The added twist to the system was to somehow try and ‘reward’ players who roleplay their newly acquired dark side well with further bonuses/boosts to magic. Obviously the aid power would need to be cheaper than the dafter option of just buying a load of magic skill levels but I never got round to do the sums on that one! Thanks for sharing the system and world history! Even more great ideas to be me started - thanks all. Assuming it gets started, I'll use the forums or blog to post the campaign on the boards so people can use bits and/or add their own thoughts. Saying that, even if the campaign doesn't get started, I'll probably develop the setting anyway in case people are interested in the material! 5. * With the exception of when I first started RP’ing and had one-of-those-GMs in a Darksun game, I don’t think I’ve ever gone through PC’s as fast as in WHFR (and actually enjoyed it, unlike the aforementioned D&D game)...

Re: Collaborative World Ending… Hi All, Wow – there’s some great ideas here (and it’s just plain interesting reading about the types of campaigns you’ve run in the past!). Now you’ve given me a dilemma of options! Am I allowed to use them all? The ideas of a plague (thanks Rose!) and a sudden uncontrollable surge in magic (thanks Lord Liaden) got me thinking along the lines of a magical plague where magic is actually a disease: people ‘catch’ the ability to use magic, but can’t control it as it is an entirely ‘new’ phenomena. I also like the idea of the PC’s accidentally triggering the event (thanks Curufea) as it adds some nice role-playing opportunities centred on guilt and accountability. Probably needs a bit more thought as I’ve only just this minute come up with it so I’ll have a think – perhaps magic is corrupting and dangerous? The main problem I can spot so far is working out how people survived: were they magically inert (i.e. immune) or did they manage to control magic? Either of these options constrains the players to “magic user” or “non-magic user” archetypes, but not both. Might be interesting but i'm don't like limiting the player's creativity too much (within reason, of course!). Any views on the above suggestion? Also still interested to hear other peoples apocalyptic campaigns and ideas! 5. (P.S. Rep to all when I get to that 50 posts marker – yep, only figured that one out a few days ago...)

Re: Collaborative World Ending… Hi Blue Jogger, I’ve never read The Magic Goes Away, but sounds like one that I ought to. I was thinking about a world reliant on magi-tech (or some such) as a possibility because it would help capture the feel of modern apocalypse novels – people have become so reliant upon technology that they’re not sure how to function without it… …also makes for some nice post-apocalyptic style scavenging & fixing if the game ended up going that way! I’ve always been intrigued about using a finite magic model in a campaign but never done so – how did it work? This approach would be especially interesting in Act II as certain magically rich areas would be hot property in a Kingdoms-style game (and also introduce conflict around whether the mana “resource” should be used at all). 5.

I’m thinking of starting a fantasy post-apocalyptic campaign that’s set in a more ‘traditional’ fantasy era (rather than modern/urban fantasy). However, to really get that post-apocalyptic feel, rather than starting X years after the cataclysmic event, I want to start the players off at the time the event actually happens, so they have to live through it. Thus, Act I of the campaign would be about the players (as low-powered normal folk who are victims, rather than architects, of the apocalypse ) just trying to survive the ensuing chaos and Act II would focus on rebuilding and expansion (possibly moving towards using the kingdom game rules in the Ultimate Base). However, I’m a bit stuck on coming up with a really good (for want of a better term) apocalypse event that would provide interesting ways for the players to survive, moral dilemma and opportunities for some great campaigning during Act I. Anyway, this is where I was hoping all the wonderful people on the Hero Boards might be able to help me… If you were going to inflict an apocalypse on your campaign world, what would it be and how would folk survive?

Re: Urban Fantasy Setting: Here There Be Monsters

Re: Urban Fantasy Setting: Here There Be Monsters

Re: HERO SYSTEM MARTIAL ARTS -- The Final Count “Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legend…”

Re: Urban Fantasy Setting: Here There Be Monsters The Morrigan (1st Draft) This write-up is not meant to accurately reflect the Morrigan of Irish mythology, but to play upon certain details, reimagining the Morrigan in a way that introduces interesting role-playing / campaigning opportunities. In short, I’ve shamelessly mixed mythology with my own ideas… “…and there, lying amidst the corpse-filth, we wounded watched as her black-winged servants came to parade, and feast, upon the fallen. And throughout it all, whilst we passed into the earth and our eyes were stolen from us, whilst the storm clouds shed their heavy tears upon the trampled Irish heather, the skies laughed thunderously, and with wild abandon…” - Extract taken from the incomplete fragments of an unknown work, apprx date 438 AD. Background and Motivation: Little is known of the (possibly immortal) entity that calls itself the Morrigan. She appears throughout mythology in a variety of disguises and, whilst little is known of her motivations (which often appear to be conflicting), she is best described as a being that seems to embrace the glory, frenzied havoc and futility of war. She is fickle, ambiguous, inconsistent and very, very dangerous. However, the UN is not entirely without understanding of the Morrigan: we believe that she is opposed to our mission of insisting that Supernaturals either operate within the Accords of Secrecy and Abeyance or risk being sanctioned. Whether this opposition arises from philosophical and moral differences (live and let live), or whether she seeks to glory in the vicious pandemonium that would ensue should Supernaturals be freed of the Accords of Secrecy and Abeyance, we are unsure. Whilst we believe the Morrigan perfectly capable of intervening with most sanctions, she does not. Thus some of us can only assume that her interventions are designed to ferment chaos or to further some other, more esoteric goal. However, there are those who suggest she may be less powerful than we believe. The exceptions to her unpredictable interventions are the Bean Sídhe – the Morrigan always intervenes when one of these dangerous individuals is being hunted, even if it is only to exact vengeance upon the hunters, post-cull. The origin of the Bean Sídhe / bean shìth / banshees is unclear and so we can only speculate upon their relationship to the Morrigan, but some have suggested that the Bean Sídhe are Demimondes, descendents of the Morrigan herself. This argument is supported by Irish folk tales, which suggest that certain of the old Gaelic families exhibit closer ties to the Bean Sídhe than others. Known Powers: History and myth record numerous instances of when the Morrigan has used her powers. It is unclear if the information below represents the full extent of her powers: At the battle of Brú na Bóinne, the Morrigan is said to have summoned a murder of crows that numbered in the hundreds of thousands. The crows are said to have turned the battle in the favour of Aodh Ó Corragáin. Shape-shifting, most notably: Crow, eel, wolf, cow, young woman and old hag. Foretelling - or being an omen of - death and doom for great heroes and entire settlements. Inciting ardour, rage and violence between entire clans/families Performing a ritual which brings forth bounteous crops after several years of poor harvest and starvation. Possible link to the mysterious dissapearance of an entire chapter of Hunters in Northern France

Re: Urban Fantasy Setting: Here There Be Monsters Hi Shrike, Banshee post updated with packaged powers and complications (I had to post an .hdc rather than .hpk) that can be applied to normals. I’ll definitely work in the Demimondes descent into the Banshee/Morrigan relationship but try and do it in a way that gives WilyQuixote GM flexibility. 5.

Re: Urban Fantasy Setting: Here There Be Monsters Next… The Morrigan Let’s just say you don’t want to get into her bad books and even thinking about hunting Bean Shìth is almost guaranteed to bump you up her unpopular list… P.S. I’m not going to bother statting the Morrigan out as she is meant as a possible recurring antagonist who finds eradicating nuisance hunters to be both rather easy and rather demeaning... 5.

Re: Urban Fantasy Setting: Here There Be Monsters Hi All, Another write-up below. No stats as of yet (i'll edit the post with them ASAP). Bean Shìth This write-up is designed to make players question the morality of their occupation: Bean Shìth are not supernatural creatures but women and girls who tragically and unwillingly manifest extremely dangerous abilities over which they have limited control. Description: The Bean Shìth (of Scottish lore), Bean-Sidhe (of Irish lore) or Banshee (of modern lore), is often portrayed as a fey spirit; a foreteller of doom; an old hag, beautiful maiden, or goddess in disguise. However, these legends are only true in part. In modern times we know that the Banshee is not some fell spirit from the beyond, but rather a woman (young or old) who, for some unknown reason, suddenly manifests certain abilities. Whether these abilities arise from possession, epiphany or the awakening of latent hereditary supernatural talents, we are unclear. However, one thing is certain: the banshee, however inadvertent and unwilling a menace, is a threat to rational, common man. The youngest verified banshee manifestation was recorded in 1856 by Kate Warne who was overseas visiting acquaintances in London at the time. The account is of Ailsa Tait, the daughter of Archibald Campbell Tait who, at the age of six, manifested banshee abilities. Ailsa’s abilities numbered amongst some of the most dangerous ever manifested and, unfortunately, the tale ends in tragedy when, despite Warne’s efforts, she was unable to ‘cure’ the young girl and, shortly afterwards, five of Ailsa’s siblings died of scarlet fever. To this day, Archibald is accorded much respect amongst Hunters for the good work carried out throughout his lifetime and, most notably, during the latter period when - as the Archbishop of Canterbury - he did much to extend and improve the organisation of the Church in the Colonies and combat supernatural menace. Those in the know cite the tragedy of Ailsa’s condition as being the principle driver behind Tait’s later zealotry for the cause. Background Info: Under the Accords of Secrecy, should one manifest banshee abilities, they become the target of an automatic sanction. Bean Shìth are women who suddenly find themselves having to cope with dangerous, sanity-damaging powers: cursed to see the death of every being they encounter; finding they are no longer able to gaze into a lover’s eyes, lest they drive them mad with visions of a million possible deaths; the Bean Shìth are no more, or less, evil than they were before the change. Most do not actively seek to inflict death and misery on others but it has a habit of following them around. Some hunters refuse to take Bean Shìth commissions, whilst others do not. Bean Shìth Package Deal Cost Power 40 Fell Coronach: Drain CON and EGO 4d6, Alternate Combat Value (uses OMCV against DMCV; +1/4), Personal Immunity (+1/4), Cumulative (+1/2), Expanded Effect (x2 Characteristics or Powers simultaneously) (+1/2), Constant (+1/2), Area Of Effect (20m Radius; Voice Range; +1) (160 Active Points); No Conscious Control (Power activates when person of note dies; -2), No Range (-1/2), Incantations (Requires Incantations throughout; -1/2) [Notes: The Banshee's keening song is draining and often leaves the singer near exhaustion.] 23 Foresee Death: Precognitive Clairsentience (Mental, Hearing, Sight, Smell/Taste And Touch Groups), Discriminatory, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (127 Active Points); No Conscious Control (Always see death when touch target; -2), Must Touch Target Power loses about half of its effectiveness (-1), Precognition Only (-1), Only Through The Senses Of Others (Experience Death as if Victim; -1/2) 19 Major Transform 4d6 (Individual into Individual with appropriate psychological complication arising from witnessing own death, Normal healing time), Attack Versus Alternate Defense (Mental Defense; +0), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Alternate Combat Value (uses OMCV against DMCV; +1/4), Works against EGO, not BODY (+1/4) (70 Active Points); No Conscious Control (Always activates when someone stares into banshee's eyes; -2), No Range (-1/2), Limited Target ([slightly Limited]; Sentient Beings; -1/4) Powers Cost: +82 Cost Talent 3 Perfect Pitch [Notes: Often an early indication that the manifestation of banshee powers is imminent] Talents Cost: +3 Total Powers Cost: +85 Pts. Disadvantage 25 Psychological Complication: Arising from forseeing all possible deaths when touch someone (Very Common; Total) 20 Physical Complication: May not intervene to prevent a death that they have forseen (physically paralysed upon attempt) (Infrequently; Fully Impairing) 20 Sanctioned: Hunters: Frequently (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish) Disadvantage Points: 65 5.

Re: Urban Fantasy Setting: Here There Be Monsters Nice! Don't want to meet one of those, especially not on a Monday morning! ;-) Love the freaky image too!

Re: Urban Fantasy Setting: Here There Be Monsters I've updated the living death creature with the custom Hex power - think i've got it right but best check! HDes file has been updated too! 5.

Re: Urban Fantasy Setting: Here There Be Monsters This one's pretty nasty... Living Death The creature before you is withered, pathetic and insane. Hunters could be forgiven for underestimating this malevolent and petty spirit but many have learnt the hard way as, having dispatched a living death they then themselves become a victim of some freak, tragically unlucky circumstance... Val Char Cost 10 STR 0 18 DEX 16 10 CON 0 10 BODY 0 14 INT 4 14 EGO 4 20 PRE 10 5 PD 3 5 ED 3 3 SPD 10 4 REC 0 20 END 0 15 STUN -2 12m RUN 0 4m SWIM 0 4m LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 60 Cost Power 53 Non-Physical Entity: Desolidification (affected by Holy powers and attacks), Persistent (+1/4), Inherent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (80 Active Points); Always On (-1/2) 18 Life-seeker: Detect Life A Single Thing 12- (Unusual Group), Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), Range, Tracking 25 Tragic Hunger: Detect Misery / Depression A Single Thing 14- (Unusual Group), Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), Range, Tracking 10 Incorporeal: No Hit Locations 130 Inflict Misery: Hex (4d6), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Affects Physical World (+2) (130 Active Points) [Notes: Effect lasts until target suffers unluck. Attack made using OMCV] Powers Cost: 236 Cost Skill 9 Mimicry 15- Skills Cost: 9 Total Character Cost: 305 Pts. Disadvantage 10 Hunger for Tragedy: Misery Takes 1d6 Damage (Uncommon; 1 Day; Addiction) [Notes: A Living Death must feed on the emotions of those who are depressed or otherwise miserable. ] 10 Psychological Complication: Desire to witness or cause misery, especially to feed (Uncommon; Strong) Disadvantage Points: 20 Base Points: 325

Re: Urban Fantasy Setting: Here There Be Monsters Hi All, Great content! I’ve been meaning to get round to joining in the posting for a while! Anyway, here’s a monster to get things started (HDes file also attached). Strike: Hopefully I’ve captured the flavour of the campaign setting but feel free to tweak anything that doesn’t work! Lord of Flies (Suit Form) The Figure before you wears stitched and sealed suit, pieced together from any available material: no portion of the creature’s flesh is visible. The creature shuffles towards you with obvious intent; its suit bulging oddly. You watch in horror as something shifts and ripples beneath the suit... Val Char Cost 16 STR 6 10 DEX 0 16 CON 6 20 BODY 10 14 INT 4 12 EGO 2 30 PRE 0 4 PD 2 2 ED 0 2 SPD 0 4 REC 0 30 END 2 20 STUN 0 8m RUN -4 3m SWIM 0 3m LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 43 Cost Power 15 Body of Flies: Does Not Bleed 15 Unremitting: Cannot Be Stunned 10 Dark Miasma: +20 PRE (20 Active Points); Only to Cause Fear (-1) 10 Hive Mind: Mental Defense (10 points total) 10 Call of Carrion: +5 PER with Smell/Taste Group 25 Corpse Gas: Drain STR 2d6, Alterable Origin Point, Area Of Effect (2m Radius; +1/4), Personal Immunity (+1/4) (37 Active Points); No Range (-1/2) [Notes: Fumes curl around the figure, sickening you, making you feel weak.] 14 No Escape from Me: Clinging (26 STR) 15 Swarm Form (Flies): Multiform (75 Character Points in the most expensive form) Powers Cost: 114 Cost Skill 6 Tracking 17- (13 Active Points); Only to trail quarry that has been injured by Lord of Flies (-1) Skills Cost: 6 Total Character Cost: 163 Pts. Disadvantage 20 Vulnerability: 2 x Effect Faith-based presence attacks (Common) 15 Distinctive Features: Amorphous, full-body suit: (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) Disadvantage Points: 35 Base Points: 163 Lord of Flies (Fly Swarm Form) Val Char Cost 0 STR -10 10 DEX 0 10 CON 0 10 BODY 0 5 INT -5 5 EGO -5 8 PRE -2 1 PD -1 1 ED -1 3 SPD 10 4 REC 0 20 END 0 15 STUN -2 12m RUN 0 4m SWIM 0 4m LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: -28 Cost Power 40 Swarm Body: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 75% (60 Active Points); Not vs. AoE / Explosion attacks Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (-1/2) 10 Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% (15 Active Points); Not vs. AoEattacks Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (-1/2) 24 Body of Flies: Desolidification , Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (60 Active Points); Does Not Protect Against Damage (-1), Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2) 4 Flight 4m, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (6 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2) 13 Choking Swarm: Drain STUN 1d6+1, Attack Versus Alternate Defense (Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing); target holds his breath; +1/2), Constant (+1/2), Cumulative (+1/2) (32 Active Points); Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Lord of Flies takes 1 BODY every time drain dice are rolled; -1), No Range (-1/2) Powers Cost: 91 Total Character Cost: 63 Pts. Disadvantage 20 Physical Complication: extremely limited manipulation: (Frequently; Greatly Impairing) Disadvantage Points: 20 Base Points: 75 5.

Re: Divine Magic System: Incarnism Hi All, I’ve started work on an example Incarnate to help people understand the system. Rhea (the character) is built for Esoterica but doesn’t use any of the specific package deals for the setting. She should be pretty portable but you might need to tweak some of the knowledge skills. Currently Rhea only has two forms: her true form and an alternate form where she becomes a vessel of Toki, a trickster aspect of the God Luuz. I need to go back and tweak the Hero Designer files as I added some flavour text as I was going along – I’ll get the files up as soon as possible. Link to page: http://www.killershrike.info/GeneralCharacterExampleRhea.ashx Enjoy! 5.

Re: Divine Magic System: Incarnism Hi Hierax, Once i've got a basic charcter and forms sorted out i'll make sure you get a copy. 5.

Re: Divine Magic System: Incarnism

Re: Divine Magic System: Incarnism Hi Gents, The latest changes are looking great! If anyone has a crack at playing an Incarnate, would be great to get some input from the play testing! 5.

Re: Esoterica Hi All, Yep, Esoterica’s coming along nicely although Shrike’s being rather modest: there’s a ton of great stuff up there from him too! ;-) Come and check it out and let us know what you think, or better still: come and help out! 5.

Re: Interesting Fantasy Locales This locale is one that might provide an interesting diversion during a larger quest. It may also help the GM (briefly) satisfy those players that always seem want to play dragons, demon-spawn, giants or something equally game-breaking (yes, you know who you are...). Location: Channah’s Stone OLD: magical stone of divine origin designed for personal growth Themes: transformation, diversion, fresh take on old tactics Description: Legend tells that Channah’s Stone was created by a greater goddess to teach a minor trickster god some sort of lesson. No one can remember what that lesson was, but most people assume that, since it was of divine origin, it was probably a good one. The Stone is pink granite, cubic and measures approximately three foot to a side. The sides are all equal but no measurement, no matter how refined, seems able to come up with an exact value. The exact location of the Stone varies but it is always surrounded by three pillar-like objects. The nature of these ‘pillars’ varies by setting: for example, witnesses have reported that the pillars were tree trunks when they came across Channah’s Stone in a woodland glade. Others have reported pillars, statues, etc. Regardless of what they look like, there are always three ‘pillars’ and they are always twice as high as the Stone itself. The PCs somehow come across the stone (perhaps they are led to it or encounter it accidentally) and, as soon as someone in the party, including NPCs, touches the stone, it activates. The range of the stone is whatever it needs to be to zap all PCs in the party (or whatever the GM determines it to be). When zapped by the stone, each PC is transformed into Something Else. The Something Else retains vague memories or what it used to be but has different traits, powers, skills, etc. The Something Else can be anything the GM wants but some general rules should be followed: - It should be playable. - It should force the player to play differently and rethink standard tactics. - Different players should be transformed differently. Maybe the form is more powerful (satisfying those dragon wannabes), less powerful, or perhaps it’s just different. Whatever it is, it should be appropriate to the challenges that the players will meet. Upon transforming the PCs, the stone teleports to a new location. The PCs remain in their new form for a set period of time (whatever the GM wants, maybe a couple of sessions). When the time runs out, the PCs revert to their original forms. Upon reverting to their original forms, and in keeping with the theme, I would suggest the GM should reward each PC with a specific ability/power rather than handing out XP. Since the players will have less choice than normal, the reward should probably be of slightly higher value than normal. The GM could just assign each player a new ability or could ask each player what they think their character learnt during their transformation. The GM and players could then jointly design a new ability using a set value of points (and perhaps any spare XP the player might have). Hooks: Freaky Friday: Maybe the PCs need to complete some sort of quest to transform back. Possible quests could be: - The PCs need to relocate the Stone and perform a rite (perhaps one that proves they’ve learnt from the experience) to return to their original forms. - The only way for the PCs to return to their original form is to lure someone else to the Stone and have them touch it. As soon as the victim is transformed, the PCs turn back. PeThe GM might need to be a bit careful with this one as the PCs might decide they prefer their new form (especially if more powerful). Evil-GM suggestion: perhaps the effects of the stone aren’t immediate. Nothing happens for a certain period of time and, just when the PCs have stopped fretting about whatever the stone did to them, the transformation happens.

Re: Interesting Fantasy Locales Hi Phil, Any and all locales are welcome! I like the shop and, to be honest, I can’t actually think of a time when I’ve been in a game where the actual shop building and tenants has been described (rather than the odd shopkeeper and/or cool things-for-sale). The evil Evil-GM in me is envisaging the ground floor alchemist as a well-meaning but incompetent bumbler, determined to prove their worth as a alchemist. Secretly, they mix their own potions in with those of the ‘real’ alchemists. The potions work, just not in the way intended (or perhaps they have minor side effects). For example: perhaps a potion of flight causes the drinker to grow wings which shrink, but do not entirely disappear, when the potion wears off (leaving the drinker with some useless vestigial wings that they need to cure).