Shadowsoul

Re: Looking for conversion material The Call of Cthulhu game has some spells. There is also a universal roleplaying system called Savage Worlds which has various different settings.

Re: The Chrysanthemum War (character suggestions sought) Let's see. Here are a few ideas for samurai. I'm not familiar with the Duty Limitation, as I don't have 6E. I assume that loyalty to the Daimyo will be the duty of most characters. Yoshitsune. Samurai are supposed to spend time meditating on their own deaths in battle. But Yoshitsune takes it a step further; he is in love with death, having sworn to die in battle or by his own hand. Yoshitsune constantly composes poems and songs about his impending brutal dismemberment and can be found after a battle, soliloquising over the fallen and the fact that he will soon join them. Nonetheless, he is a fine swordsman and so his allies tolerate his quirks. Muneharu. A giant of a man noted for his skill with bows. Muneharu dislikes horses, (saying that they are not strong enough to bear him), and prefers to fight on foot when he can, however, having been born on a coastal island he is familiar with boats of all kinds. Muneharu loves to gamble and has come close to losing even his armour in games of chance, therefore the Daimyo has made him swear not to handle money at all. Hideyori. Hideyori comes from a poor family and so spent a lot of his formative years hunting. He is a good tracker and can move sneakily when he wants to. Although Hideyori cannot fire arrows as far as Muneharu can he is a better rider and skilled in yabusame. In contrast to Muneharu, Hideyori is quite money grabbing as samurai go, though for good reasons, he sends his stipend as well as all the loot he gains to his family. Shingoro. The self-proclaimed ‘Bane of Maidens’; Shingoro's smile is said to have broken more hearts than his sword has taken heads. Aside from his beauty, Shingoro has a talent for persuasion, negotiation and barefaced lying which has often seen him accompanying the Daimyo’s ambassador on diplomatic missions. Unfortunately Shingoro is sometimes more interested in pursuing women than in getting the job done. Kiyomasa. A hot-headed young samurai covered in battle scars despite his tender years. He’s the fastest sword amongst the Daimyo’s guards but his temper is just as quick and often gets him into trouble. As for Hakamoto. You could have a monk to advise on philosophy and spiritual matters and to negotiate with nearby temples. The treasurer could actually be a woman, perhaps a concubine whom the Daimyo trusts. The general could be especially loyal because he was once an ashigaru and the Daimyo raised him to the samurai class, or he could be the Daimyo’s brother and have a bit of a rivalry with his lord. If the clan has a navy then one of the Hakamoto could be an admiral. As for heroes. A master of karate, perhaps one who has sworn to collect the swords of his defeated opponents in order to prove that a warrior should only rely on his own body. A martial artist from China or Korea. A legendary hunter belonging to the Ainu people of Ezo, (Hokkaido), who was exiled by his tribe for some unknown crime. A geisha widely believed to be the most beautiful woman in Japan and an expert musician and entertainer. She could serve as a spy or diplomat or simply as inspiration.

Re: Guards and Soldiers A couple more. One low end normal unit and one exotic elite unit. Blackeye’s Hillmen. The hills and mountains of northern Manos are home to several tribes of dirt-poor hunters who sometimes look down with envy upon the green and fertile lands of the South. Life is cheap amongst the hill-folk and they often raid each other or the villages of the lowlanders. Recently an enterprising Hillwoman called Blackeye has gathered together a band of veteran raiders and led them into the lowlands, seeking employment as mercenaries. The Hillmen, (and women), are poorly equipped and lack formal training but will fight for little more than booze, board and looting rights. Most of the Hillmen are lightly equipped with sword, dagger and buckler. A few carry hunting spears, bows or great two handed swords which have been handed down in their families for generations. Lacking civilised tactics such as shield walls and proper formations, the Hillmen rely on breaking their enemies’ ranks with a single brutal charge and tend to die in droves if that charge is stopped. The Monkey Warriors of Numahan. Most dismiss the claims that the temples of the Monkey God in the tropical land of Numahan are guarded by baboon warriors as mere travellers’ tales. The people of Numahan know better. Each priesthood in Numahan has its sacred protectors, to ward off demons, non-believers and thieves, but few are a match for the Monkey God’s warriors; baboons which stand almost as tall as men and carry powerful longbows that no mundane archer could string. Like any worthy temple guardian, the baboon warriors are utterly obedient to the priesthood of their patron and will fight to the last monkey in defence of his sacred ground. They are often seen during festivals and holy times, marching in loping step with their colourful uniforms glinting in the hot Numahanian sun. The Monkey Warriors wear lacquered leather armour that is painted in bright colours and adorned with the feathers of tropical birds. Their main weapons are mighty longbows but although they also carry ceremonial clubs, carved with scenes sacred to the Monkey God, they will usually fight bare-handed if caught in a melee. Though not trained for close combat the Monkey Warriors are as vicious as their wild cousins, tearing enemies limb from limb or savaging them with dagger-sharp fangs when cornered. Tactically speaking the Monkey Warriors are excellent jungle fighters, ambushers and, (unlike mundane baboons), climbers; many an enemy of the Monkey God has perished beneath a hail of arrows without even seeing the simian warriors lurking in the treetops above them. Divine creatures are not numerous, however; most temples cannot muster more than a dozen Monkey Warriors and it is rare indeed to see these scattered squads gathered into a larger force.

Re: Guards and Soldiers Thanks everyone for contributing! I personally have no problem with exotic or powerful units, or even units that are both. However, I agree that this thread is aimed at giving GMs ideas for minion level guards and soldiers. So low powered troops with a bit of flavour to make them more memorable are a great addition to the ranks. But mutants, martial artists and non-humans are good too. All entries are appreciated. I've tried to post a range of troops. From the underpowered Half-Tooth Crews and White Wards of Hind to competent soldiers like the Ausburg Artisans, Fainthearts and Taurian Army, 2nd Regiment, 9th Company and bizarre or elite units such as the Ghost Riders, Scar Wood Irregulars and Bio-Troopers of Oort. I admit that I have a weakness for weird and exotic characters and that this has coloured a lot of my own entries. So I appreciate Lucius and Badger providing some more 'low end' troops that could easily fit into almost any Fantasy setting. That being said, I liked the stranger entries like the Tarantula Men, even if the Black Widow consort gave me bad images. Oh and tributes, veiled or unveiled, are definitely acceptable. I have a couple of 5er package deals which would fit the 'Span-Torchers' eerily well. Though I think I'd want to rework them a little now that I have finished reading 'that' series. http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/67932-Malazan-Hero/page4?highlight=malazan

Re: Guards and Soldiers Thanks for the Damned Horde, Badger. You've described their leaders in such detail that I think they could be the major villains of a whole campaign! About the Taurian Army, 2nd Regiment, 9th Company. They were based on turning the Barksdale crew in The Wire into fantasy soldiers. But don't worry if you didn't guess that, guys. When I said that everyone should be able to guess the origins of 'this unit', I was referring to the Bio-Troopers of Oort, who are of course fantasy versions of Star Wars clone troopers. Sorry to have confused people.

Re: ...If I End Up In an Urban Fantasy Novel 56. I will not keep my friends and the local law enforcement officers ignorant of the supernatural world to 'protect' them. Knowledge is power and my friends had better be pretty darn powerful when they wander into the path of whatever abomination is hunting me this week. 57. I will forcibly interrogate all of my close relatives, (especially the dead ones), to find out what they know. Whatever is happening to me, they are up to their necks in it. 58. When I have to investigate a creepy abandoned building I will bring guns, lots of guns, and backup, lots of backup. 59. If I irritate an ancient vampire in the course of my investigations and they threaten to take revenge at some future time, I will not wait and see what happens, I will firebomb their house/apartment/crypt and sprinkle the ashes with salt and holy water, then try to get planning permission to build a church on the site. 60. I will invest in a travelcard/buspass for when my car gets trashed.

Re: Pandorum (Huge spoilers inside) It's not like the settlement has a lot of options. If the players complete a mission successfully then the other survivors might simply come to rely on them. The survivors would probably be desperate for heroes, people who will sort this mess out, so whoever is in charge might find it politically expedient to use these 'heroes' to solve problems. Or they may simply not know who else to turn to for the difficult stuff.

Re: Pandorum (Huge spoilers inside) So what's the main hook here? Is it about exploring an alien planet and learning to bend it to your needs? Or is it a Settlers or Civilisation resource-gathering style game where the reward is to watch your ragged band of survivors grow into a thriving settlement? Do you want your players to get involved in the finer points of alien agriculture or basic architecture? Or will they be the go-to guys, running off to fetch things that the experts need to build their settlement? You might also want to think about conflict amongst the remaining settlers. Some of the people stranded on the ship did some pretty horrible things to survive. And with the death of Earth alongside the loss of so many fellow settlers some survivors might go mad or develop violent/criminal tendencies. Btw. Will the mutants who evolved in mountains and deserts be intelligent enough to be reasoned with? Or will they be mindless monsters?

Re: Guards and Soldiers Thanks for contributing, Ockham's Spoon. I particularly like the Chaos Warriors, I can see a lot of different story threads developing out of their adventures. Just a couple more from me for now. This unit is the result of watching too many episodes of The Wire. I intend no disrespect towards American Servicemen of any origin. Taurian Army, 2nd Regiment, 9th Company. The empire of Tauria outlawed slavery decades ago. But slavery was once its lifeblood and many of the freed slaves, whose ancestors hailed from the mysterious continent of Roycath, still live in poverty in the slums and ghettoes of the great Taurian cities. Violence and crime are rife in these places, where honest work is rare and a decent wage is rarer still. The Royjans have their own culture, music, dialect and traditions and they share little of the wealth of the empire. The Taurian Army gets many recruits from the Royjan slums and these soldiers are amongst the toughest in the empire. Sometimes entire companies can be drawn from the same area, companies such as the 9th. The soldiers of the 9th are pikemen and they wear scale armour. Many of them use non-standard equipment however, particularly the weapons that served them well in their inner-city homes. Favoured weapons, named in the almost incomprehensible street language of the city-dwelling Taurian Royjans, include: 'Bats' - long slim wooden clubs and 'tin' - mass produced pistol bows made from cheap metals. The 9th is not an elite unit, but they are brave and hardy fighters. Everyone should be able to guess the origins of this unit. Bio-Troopers of Oort. Oort is the birthplace of Biomancy and there are many weird secrets hidden inside the palatial laboratories of its ruling class. Giant insects and multi-headed monsters, talking dogs and birds with human faces. But few people realise that the troopers who guard the Oortian labs were born within them. Nonetheless it is true; every Oortian Bio-Trooper has the same face, they are biological copies of a long-dead soldier. The Oortian armour, moulded from a white clay-like substance extruded by biomantically engineered Arachnoids, makes each trooper appear identical and so disguises the fact that they really are interchangeable. Oortian Bio-Troopers wear full bodysuits of biomantic armour, including a helmet equipped with smoked glass eye-covers and an air-filter of spider silk. Bio-Troopers fight with pressurised harpoon guns, (intended to incapacitate escaped experiments), and short swords. While they are disciplined and skillful combatants the Bio-Troopers are trained to fight in small groups or alongside biomantic monsters, they are not used to the massed infantry tactics which are second nature to most soldiers.

Re: Guards and Soldiers This is, perhaps, what I should have done with the guards I mentioned in my first post. Though the party had already met non-humans with similar weapons. The Redguard of Castle Yumah. Humans drafted into the service of a ruthless Vampire Lord the Redguard are butchers as much as soldiers. They stalk the jungles around their castle home looking for prey, human and animal, to offer up to their bloodthirsty masters. Agile, stealthy and possessing the raw cunning and savagery of the Vampires they serve, the Redguard are not to be taken lightly. They are expert climbers and can easily ambush their opponents if encountered in a forest environment. The Redguard wear very light armour made from knotted plant fibres. They carry javelins and snares and various close combat weapons intended to bleed and butcher their victims; sawtoothed knives, curved daggers, half-moon blades, barbed spears and axes. Though skilled enough and inured to violence the Redguard are not especially brave or disciplined. And just for fun. Ghost Riders. Cavalry recruited from the criminals and brigands of Nelmore by the evil mage Yartan Blacktongue. The Ghost Riders aren't dead but their skeletal mounts are, and so are most of their enemies. When not killing or looting the Ghost Riders indulge in wild parties involving drink, drugs, destruction and women, (willing women are optional). Unlike many cavalrymen the Riders enjoy a good brawl at ground level and carry plenty of close-in weapons just in case. If they have any loot left over after a party they tend to spend it on exotic weapons. The Ghost Riders wear distinctive leather armour, consisting of a studded leather jacket, leather trews and steel toed boots, often accentuated with bandanas, horned helmets, fetishes and the bones of dead enemies. They carry cavalry maces as well as an assortment of brass knuckles, chains, daggers and clubs. Their mounts are decorated with bits of metal armour, spikes, charms and more bones. Some Riders carry magic weapons, explosive potions or hand cannons. Warlord Breed's Frog Soldiers. So named for their distinctive leap attack, the Frog Soldiers were once a clan of acrobatic horse thieves before being recruited by Warlord Breed to serve as shock troops. The Frog Soldiers wear few clothes and less armour, apart from hideous fanged helmets, though a few have fashioned breastplates from pieces of stolen horse armour. They carry swords or short spears. The Frog Soldiers can overwhelm even cavalry and organised infantry by literally jumping on them, but die quickly if pinned down or caught by missile fire.

Re: Guards and Soldiers And a few more. The Dragon Guard of Sorceria. Many are the tales told of the Dragon Guard, few of them pleasant. In every bar and tavern in Sorceria people speculate about what might lurk beneath the steel that covers them from head to toe. Some whisper that their faces are every bit as monstrous as the snarling dragon helms which mask them. Others say that it is not flesh that hides beneath the armour, but the spirits of the restless dead. No one who does not serve the Tyrant of Sorceria can say for sure. But all agree that the Dragon Guard wield their axes with consummate skill and ferocity and that their line has never been breached in battle. The Dragon Guard wear full plate armour, included banded iron gauntlets, visored helms and steel reinforced boots, and carry pole-axes. Their discipline and skill are superb but, despite the rumours, they are well trained humans with a fearsome reputation, not monsters. They do possess the superb strength and endurance required to wear plate armour for hours at a time, however. Lady Curvedanger's Bodyguard. Lady Curvedanger requires that all her bodyservants be handsome, strong and graceful. She has often been heard to remark, with a wicked smile on her face, that they serve her best with their armour off. This is true, though not just in the way that people might think. These bodyguards are trained in the subtle arts of stealth and assassination, so that they might further their mistress's ambitions while protecting her from the machinations of her rivals. More than one hired killer has crept up on a seemingly dumb brute of a bodyguard, only to fall to the curved dagger or poisoned dart of his partner. Lady Curvedanger's Bodyguard wear ceremonial half-plate and carry spears or decorative maces which they are not especially adept with. They use shuriken, garottes, daggers, darts and poisons with considerably more competence and can melt a woman's heart with a single smile. The White Wards of Hind. One in twenty five children born in the teeming city of Hind are albino. No one knows why this happens, but the superstitious Hindites view these unlucky children with disgust and relegate them to the bottom of the caste system. They are the refuse collectors and gravediggers, doomed to perform only those tasks without honour. To the albinos falls the task of guarding the only people with lower status than them - the wretched criminals imprisoned in the labyrinthine dungeons beneath Hind. The albinos of Hind are not kind to those in their care; though they have no more natural cruelty than any other human, each Ward has suffered a lifetime of unjust persecution and most relish the opportunity to visit that pain on others. The White Wards of Hind wear thick leather armour and executioners' hoods. They are not allowed to carry the swords, spears and bows sacred to other castes and must content themselves with whips, punchspikes and clubs. The White Wards are torturers rather than soldiers, they fare poorly against trained fighters. Kir's Marauders. Kir is one of the many barbarians that ventured into civilised lands in order to make his fortune. He soon recruited a band of like-minded warriors and now pillages the known world, for a price. You must belong to a suitably savage or warlike tribe to join the Marauders. Apart from that all Kir asks of his men, (and women), is that they know their way around an axe, can ride a horse well and can survive at least one drinking bout with their leader. Kir's Marauders are cavalry. They wear heavy furs, though some have better armour, and carry a bewildering array of edged weapons, with axes being the most common. They are tough and ferocious, but are also impatient for battle and hard to control. The 3rd Legion of Darkness, "The Fainthearts". During the Battle of The Murky Plains the 3rd Legion of the army of the Demonlord D'arc fled without even drawing their swords. The fact that they had been running from a dragon summoned by the other side's wizards did not appease their master's wrath. He placed them under a curse, saying that the soul of every member of the Legion who did not die bravely in battle would suffer eternal torment in the Elemental Plane of Agony. Since then the 3rd Legion have laughed as they run into battle and flung themselves onto their enemies' swords with desperate abandon. The Fainthearts carry longswords and kite shields. Only their fear of a cowardly death marks them out from any other unit, though they are quite competent as soldiers go.

Guards, soldiers, minions. The bread and butter of an adventuring party's opponents. I caught myself describing a couple of soldiers that my players encountered the other day as 'guards' and making no further attempt to individualise them. Now the PCs in that campaign are powerful enough that normals without good equipment barely warrant getting the combat rules out. But I still feel that I missed an opportunity for a memorable encounter. So I thought it might help to stockpile ideas for units and groups of soldiers/guards/mercenaries that people could draw on to add a little colour to the faceless minions of lords and generals that stand in your players' way. So please, post any units/regiments from your games that you like or are particularly proud of. Or any units from books/games/films that you like. Or just a unit that you come up with on the spot. All I ask is that the unit should be usable in at least one of the major fantasy sub-genres e.g. High, Sword and Sorcery. (Preferably not Urban Fantasy). Package Deals are welcome but are not necessary. Here are my initial ideas. I'll try to use generic names to make them more easily transferable into a particular setting. The Scar Wood Irregulars. Many commanders swear by these skirmishing mercenaries from the back-woods of Scar. Ok, they aren't good at taking prisoners, tend to slaughter the enemy, (and friendly), wounded with excessive enthusiasm and give normal troops the creeps. But they possess a wiry strength and a curious indifference to death that makes them excellent light fighters and shock troops. The truth is that Scar Wood is a primordial place and traces of the inhuman creatures that once lived there can be seen in the current human inhabitants. The people of Scar Wood are hairless, possessed of unnaturally long limbs and gifted with flesh that does not bear wounds for long. There is something horrible lurking in the too-wet depths of their dark eyes and if any outsider has heard the names of their gods then he has not lived to tell the tale. Scar Wood Irregulars are lightly equipped with leather armour, (at best), axes, picks, clubs and a few bows. Their superior strength and eerie presence make them dangerous fighters. Scar Wood boasts an unusual number of Warlocks. Lord Dire's Guards. Lord Dire lives a reclusive life in a vast tower and carries out experiments in alchemy, necromancy and demonism. Only the most desperate or foolhardy willingly join the ranks of his mortal servants and they are poor fighters for the most part. The things they have seen have made them pale and jittery and their secondary role as test subjects has given many of them skeletal limbs or demonic mutations. Lord Dire's Guards wear tattered chainmail and wield swords and shields. They are less healthy than normal soldiers and their morale is poor. Nonetheless, those that survive more than a few months amongst Dire's experiments and 'pets' develop excellent nightvision and a rudimentary resistance to magic. A few guards possess undead limbs or other 'useful' curses that make them worthier opponents. The Ausburg Artisans. Named for the Artisans Quarter which they traditionally recruit from, these mercenaries are typically sons of merchants or succesful craftsmen. Each Artisan uses his own funds to buy the superbly crafted crossbow he carries. The Artisans take pride in their appearance, sporting uniforms of darkest burgundy complete with bicorn hats and jackets of light chainmail. Unfortunately the Artisans see themselves as elite marksman and tend to become panicky if a commander allows an enemy to get within sword range of their precious hides. The Ausburg Artisans carry heavy crossbows and short swords and wear chainmail. Their skill in marksmanship is far superior to their abilities in a melee. The Half-Tooth Crews. When the paranoid Merchant Lords of the city of Guilder confiscated all foreign ships in their port they left many a poor sailor wandering the docks with nothing but the shirt on his back. Banned from working on Guilder ships, many of these sailors banded together into a loose alliance and now work as thugs and enforcers for anyone who will take them. The Crewmen can be picked out from other gangs by their mix of races and cultures and the piratical sea-slang that they use to communicate with each other. Crews are led by Captains and the toughest fighter is elected to be the First Mate. The name Half-Tooth refers to the less than average number of teeth owned by the Crewmen, either the result of too much hard-tack or too many drunken brawls. The Crewmen do not wear armour and are variously equipped with knives, bludgeons, cutlasses and crude flails made from rope and dockside wreckage. They rely on numbers and stubborness in a fight and are not particularly skilled fighters for the most part. The Crewmen show little loyalty to their employers and are easily bribed with offers of money, alchohol or the chance to sail the seven seas once again.

Re: Rocky Horror Picture Villain Well I've sent the files. Hope they reach you in one piece.

Re: Rocky Horror Picture Villain Yeah, I thought that if Riff-Raff could get hold of a 'laser' then so could Frank. Though I caved and called it an anti-matter pistol rather than a laser. And yes. You shouldn't let society stop you from writing up whomever or whatever you like. Go man.

Re: Rocky Horror Picture Villain

Re: Rocky Horror Picture Villain Name: Dr Frank N Furter Val Char Base Cost 10/15 STR 10 0 10 DEX 10 0 8 CON 10 -4 8 BODY 10 -4 23 INT 10 13 18 EGO 10 16 18 PRE 10 8 10 COM 10 0 2/3 PD 2 0 2 ED 2 0 2 SPD 2.0 0 4/5 REC 4 0 16 END 16 0 17/20 STUN 17 0 6" RUN 6 0 2" SWIM 2 0 2"/3" LEAP 2 0 STR Roll: 11- / 12- Lift: 100.0kg/200.0kg DEX Roll: 11- Run: 6" CON Roll: 11- Swim: 2" INT Roll: 14- Leap: 2"/3" EGO Roll: 13- PRE Attack: 3 1/2d6 PER Roll: 14- Disadvantages Pts Psychological Limitation: Sociopath (Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: Sex Addict and Extreme Hedonist (Common, Total) 20 Psychological Limitation: Insane Jealousy (Common, Total) 20 Social Limitation: Transexual Transvestite (Frequently, Minor, Not Limiting In Some Cultures) 5 Social Limitation: Alien (Occasionally, Severe, Not Limiting In Some Cultures) 10 Pts. Power END 3 Insane Strength: +5 STR (5 Active Points); Conditional Power Only when enraged (-1/2) 1 Power Cost: 3 Pts. Skill Roll 0 Climbing 8- 8- 0 Concealment 8- 8- 0 Language: Transylvanian (idiomatic; literate) (5 Active Points) 5 Language: English (idiomatic; literate) 0 AK: Transexual Transylvania (Native Area) 11- 2 CuK: Alternative 11- 5 PS: Mad Scientist 14- 5 PS: Singer and Choreographer 14- 5 PS: Surgeon 14- 5 PS: Lover 14- 5 Electronics (Transylvanian Technology) 15- 3 Acting 13- 3 Conversation 13- 7 Inventor 16- 4 KS: Anatomy 13- 4 KS: Biology 13- 3 Mimicry 14- 5 Persuasion 14- 5 Research 15- 7 Seduction 15- 0 Stealth 8- 1 TF: Personal Use Spacecraft 4 WF: Axes, Maces, Hammers, and Picks, Blades, Laser Pistols, Sonic Transducer 7 SS: Bio-engineering 16- Skill Cost: 85 Pts. Perks 30 Advanced Tech 2 Reputation: Superb Scientist and Hedonist (A small to medium sized group) 11-, +2/+2d6 25 Follower: Riff-Raff, Magenta and Columbia. Perk Cost: 57 Cost Equipment END Antimatter Pistol: Energy Blast 12d6 (60 Active Points); Independent (-2), OAF (-1), STR Minimum 5 (STR Min. Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; -3/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), Beam (-1/4), 12 Charges (-1/4) [12] Suggestibility Drug: Drain EGO 10d6 (standard effect: 30 points), Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Minute; +1/4) (125 Active Points); OAF Fragile (Drug; -1 1/4), 6 Charges (-3/4) [6] Sonic Transducer: Multipower, 300-point reserve, (300 Active Points); all slots OIF Immobile (Complex machinery; -1 1/2), Conditional Power Must be connected to an electrical supply (-1/2), Gestures (Pulling switches and levers; -1/4) u 1) Sonic Transducer - Paralysation Beam: Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF, Takes No Damage From Attacks All Attacks (+1/2), No Range Modifier (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (150 Active Points); OIF Immobile (Complex machinery; -1 1/2), Conditional Power Must be connected to an electrical supply (-1/2), Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4), Gestures (Pulling switches and levers; -1/4) 0 u 2) Sonic Transducer - Petrification Beam: Major Transform 10d6 (standard effect: 30 points) (Flesh Into Stone, Sonic Transducer), No Range Modifier (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (300 Active Points); OIF Immobile (Complex machinery; -1 1/2), Conditional Power Must be connected to an electrical supply (-1/2), Gestures (Pulling switches and levers; -1/4) 0 u 3) Sonic Transducer - Teleporter: Teleportation 36", No Relative Velocity, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Ranged (+1/2), No Range Modifier (+1/2), Usable As Attack (+1) (287 Active Points); OIF Immobile (Complex machinery; -1 1/2), Conditional Power Must be connected to an electrical supply (-1/2), Gestures (Pulling switches and levers; -1/4) 0 u 4) Sonic Transducer - Long Ranged Teleporter: Teleportation 25", No Relative Velocity, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Ranged (+1/2), No Range Modifier (+1/2), Usable As Attack (+1), MegaScale (1" = 1,000 km; +1), Can Be Scaled Down 1" = 1km (+1/4) (285 Active Points); OIF Immobile (Complex machinery; -1 1/2), Conditional Power Must be connected to an electrical supply (-1/2), Gestures (Pulling switches and levers; -1/4) 145 Abilities Cost 29 + Characteristics Cost 174 = Total Cost Base Points : 104 Disads Total + 70 Experience Spent + 0 Total Cost = 174

Are you plagued by villains who lack a certain something? Villains who never break into song and dance routines or challenge your heroes' sexuality? Have you secretly always wanted to pit a bunch of two-fisted heroes against a youthful Tim Curry in drag? Never fear, the Hero 5ER write-up of Dr Frank N Furter from the Rocky Horror Picture Show is here. Character sheet to follow. Background/History. Frank is an alien from the mysterious and decadent planet of Transsexual in the Transylvanian system. His original purpose in travelling to Earth is unknown but he has made a name for himself amongst certain unconventional people as a supreme hedonist and reclusive genius. He appears to have had some influence or rank on his home planet as he commands the loyalty, initially, of two other Transylvanians, Riff-Raff and Magenta. Personality/Motivation. An obsessive pleasure seeker; Frank exists to indulge his insatiable desire for sex, cross-dressing and dance numbers. He is a scientist but his research seems focused on creating the perfect man to serve as his plaything. While he does not seem interested in criminal or violent actions for their own sake Frank is sociopathic, amoral and capable of insane fits of jealousy and spite when thwarted, which leads him to commit many monstrous acts. Although he craves attention and adulation and may have left his castle, on occasion, to recruit lovers, Frank does not usually entertain visitors, which is probably for the best. Campaign Use. Frank would serve well as the antagonist of a single adventure set in castle Frank-N-Furter, but could also inject a dose of bizarre black humour into a campaign by serving as a recurring villain. If the PCs do not simply stumble across the castle then they may seek Frank out because of his scientific accomplishments or to rescue someone that he has seduced. It is also possible that he might venture out of his castle in search of fun, perhaps encountering the PCs when one of them objects to his seduction of their spouse, partner, sibling, child or other acquaintance. However he is encountered, Frank works best if given the chance to try and seduce or otherwise dazzle the PCs before actually coming to blows with them. Quote. “I’m just a sweet transvestite, from Transsexual Transylvania”. Powers/Tactics. When first encountered Frank is likely to be friendly, or at least civilised. He will attempt to seduce anyone who catches his eye, taking great delight in corrupting the innocent and overcoming his partners’ moral and sexual boundaries, but is otherwise unlikely to resort to violence until his will is thwarted or he feels threatened. Once angered Frank will probably rely on his advanced Transylvanian technology, such as his sonic transducer, to overcome opponents, but is quite prepared to physically assault a victim that he can take by surprise or easily overwhelm. If all else fails then Frank will panic and run away. Appearance. Appears to be a young human man wearing thick make-up and a scanty collection of fetishized women’s clothing. Designer’s notes. I have rounded Frank out slightly with skills, like Biology, that suit his character, but have mostly kept to the abilities he displays in the film. I don’t own Star Hero, so have had to guess how many tech levels he is above the earth average. In the stage directions for the script of the Rocky Horror Picture Show film there is a note saying that Frank N Furter’s captives follow his commands during the floor show scene because he has drugged them. I have chosen to represent this with a drug that saps the will, making people more biddable. It could also work as a mass Mind Control power or a Transform Mind which heals back naturally. There are doubtless more uses that the sonic transducer could be put to and I’d encourage GMs to equip Frank, and his castle, with all the mad devices their wicked little hearts’ could wish for; he is a scientist, after all.

Re: Alignment makes perfect sense Well they do say that opposites attract. And many people bemoan the fact that they only seemed to be attracted to people who are bad for them. Ann Rice, and many another author of horror/romance, has made a living out of writing about characters that play on this impulse towards destructive relationships.

Re: The Badass Sewage Collector, or, "THEY became a hero?" Not sure about a sewage worker but there are some unusual professions amongst fantasy characters. In Piers Anthony's Prostho Plus the protagonist is a dentist. In Storm Glass by Maria V Snyder Opal Cowyn is a glass-blower. Anvar from Maggie Furie's Artefacts of Power series is a servant who becomes the second most important character in the series. Garric and Cashel from the Lord of the Isles series start out as a shepherds. Ilna, another main character, is a weaver. Tiaan, the main character in Ian Irvine's Well of Echoes series, is basically a factory worker at the beginning of the book. And don't forget the legions of thieves, orphans and street kids who make good in an epic way.

Re: Under the Agony Star: a sword and planet campaign If you want a suitably alien and frightening being then consider the Vermiform from Steph Swainston's Castle series. 'She' is a hive mind formed from a colony of parasitic worms that can combine to create humanoid shapes. I think the Hunters from Halo have a similar make-up, though I have never heard of them appearing in anything other than their in-game form.

Re: Ideas for a trip on Black Forest Have a Faerie turn them into something. E.g. people who are six inches high and have to fight beetles and spiders and rats bigger than them to survive. A tree root becomes a wall, the tree itself is an immense cliff, a stray breeze can fling them across the forest floor. Even getting around becomes difficult. Or one character could be turned into a talking animal. Or a giant with anger management issues, the other players have to keep the giant from causing too much damage while they find a way to turn him/her back to normal. Alternatively, through them into the middle of a Romeo and Juliet style love story. The players find a beautiful elf/nymph/druidess/faerie crying in the woods. She tells them that she has fallen in love with a woodcutter but her tribe are sworn to destroy any who would harm the forest. She begs the players to find a way to bring peace to the two groups so that she can marry her beloved. If that is too tricky/unsuitable for them then try combining the last two ideas. Perhaps there is no hatred between the woodsmen and the faeries and they've decided to seal a marriage alliance. Instead of acting as diplomats the players could escort a wilful faerie bride to meet her human fiancee and marry him. The faerie keeps wandering off and has a nasty habit of cursing people who irritate her. But the players have been made to promise that they'll get the girl to her fiancee alive, so they can't kill her, no matter what she does. The advantage of this is that it should be fairly easy to finish the story arc whenever you want to.

Re: Mad Cult-Leader of the Elder God of Pestilence I can only add a couple of thoughts at this point, since most of the bases have been covered. Control of creatures believed to spread plague e.g. rats, insects. Diseases of the mind. Drain Int, Mind Control, (go crazy). Berserk Fury - Usable By Other, (a spell to give followers the power and fury of a rabid animal). Microbe powers. The priest could create doubles of himself, or generate hideous plague-monsters, by dividing like bacteria do. I reckon that would scare the crap out of me if I saw someone do it.

Re: ...If I End Up In an Urban Fantasy Novel The funny thing is that part of the reason she wrote the Merry Gentry novels was apparently to get the sexual energy out of her system so she could write Anita Blake a little less ... passionately. And even those novels have some interesting ideas lurking amongst the orgies and overlong descriptions of characters' outfits. I did give up on them in the end though. At least her Vampires don't twinkle. P.S. I'd actually recommend the October Daye novels to both men and women. The writing isn't bad and the characters are varied and interesting. There is romance but it is slow burning and quite funny in places. There is plenty of darkness and some action but October Daye is no superhero, even if she does share the cockroach-like ability of every Urban Fantasy main character ever to survive a ridiculous amount of trauma in any given book while consistently antagonising creatures that are bigger, older and meaner than she is. She is also an occult detective who occasionally still detects and deduces things, rather than just wandering around while being attacked by a succession of monsters.

Re: Ideas for a trip on Black Forest There's that bit in one of the earliest Discworld books when the main character gets pulled into a tree a by a Dryad only to discover that inside the tree is a whole new 'multidimensional universe' or something. Basically a different world inside the tree, full of Dryads with a nasty habit of killing people who hurt trees. You might get some ideas from this thread http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/84281-Forest-Giant-Spells if you haven't looked at it already. A lot of Arthurian stories took place in forests. The most famous is probably the one about the Green Knight, who insults Arthur's court then offers to take one blow from any brave knight and return the blow in a year's time. Only problem is that the Green Knight can survive mortal wounds like having his head cut off. You could change the time scale from a year to a day and see if the players can come up with a way of surviving the Green Knight's bargain. But there really is no end of things that can be found in a forest in a Fantasy game. Enchanted pools or springs, goodnatured outlaws, unicorns, forest Trolls, Faeries, Treants, holy trees, stone circles, ancient ruins or overgrown castles, wandering bands of heroes who have gotten lost, playful spirits, hallucinogenic mushrooms, lions, shapeshifters, dangerously seductive women with magical powers and strange beasts that men have long thought extinct.

Re: "The orcs stole your underwear again..." I've never played in a comedic campaign. One of the encounters in my old Blackpowder Fantasy campaign was played for laughs though - A deranged squid-man captured the PCs, took them down to his undersea lab and tried to experiment on them. The squid-man was pathalogically incapable of empathising with his test subjects and when they escaped he made various offers such as 'I'll try to remember to feed you once a day if you get back on the operating table now'. The two players who turned up that night seemed to enjoy it. I still have the write-up somewhere. I also briefly toyed with the idea of a home-brewed comedy RPG called 'Maidens and Minarets'. It would have tried to answer the question of how all those kidnapped fairytale princesses passed the time until they were rescued. Missions would have involved; spring cleaning a haunted castle, trying to make sure that the mighty knight with bad breath didn't make it through the Labyrinth of a Thousand Terrors and finding out if the Trolls in the basement would like a nice cup of tea. I think a more experienced gamer convinced me that no good would come of asking male roleplayers to pretend to be princesses. And in my experience lady roleplayers tend to want to distance themselves from that kind of gender stereotype.