Small But Vicious Dog - Greenskins

I thought I'd stat up some monsters for SBVD, and what better place to start then with the infamous greenskins and their WAAAAAAGH and what have you


Orcs

Orcs are probably the stupidest creatures in the Old World that could still
qualify as sentient. Huge, green and almost eternally angry, Orcs are dangerous
in large numbers. They have Shamans who harness something the orcs call the
"Waaagh," which is a supernatural hive-mind belief that if the orcs think something
is magical, it does become magical. For example, they believe painting a vehicle red
will make it go faster, and their collective will makes it so. Orcs are fairly
harmless by themselves, but many travel in huge packs. They usually carry
terrible war cleavers they call "Choppas." They have nightvision
up to 10 yards

There are other types of orcs, such as the ferocious black orcs and the
tattooed savage orcs. Black orcs are generally just a stat increase. No matter
their type, all orcs are prone to hatred of literally anything (even other orcs)

Orc shamans have the spellcasting abilities of a wizard equal to their W,
but their combat abilities usually take a hit.

Mv - 4
WS - 2
BS - 2
Att - 1
W - 2
AC - 7
SV - F1

Goblins

Goblins are the slaves and sometimes food source of the orcs. Small and
cowardly, their devilish ways still scare a lot of citizens. They do
a lot of the grunt work of the orcs, and any goblin warband squabbles amongst
themselves fairly regularly. Like orcs, they have nightvision to 10 yards.

Goblins are prone to hatred like orcs, but they are also extremely afraid
of elves of all sorts.

Mv - 4
WS - 2
BS - 1
Att - 1
W - 2
AC - 8
SV - NM

Snotlings

Snotlings are the wretches of greenskin society, being even under the goblins.
They are more like loyal dogs than anything, with barely the ability to speak.
They live in filth, are killed constantly and are used as literal cannon fodder.
Like other greenskins, they have nightivision to 10 yards.

Snotlings are too stupid to figure out the hatred greenskins all have, so they
do not suffer from it. However, they usually suffer from stupidity, as well
as fear if they are severely outnumbered or even terror if they are alone.

Mv - 4
WS - 1
BS - 1
Att - 1
W - 1
AC - 9
SV - NM

Hobgoblins

Hobgoblins are similar looking to goblins, though they are almost as large
as orcs. They appear as slightly bestial humans, but they do not often associate
with orcs. Many hobgoblins live to the east under their Khan rulers. Hobgoblins
are vile and cunning, more so than any other greenskin. They have nightvision
up to 10 yards.

Hobgoblins are prone to hatred like all other greenskins. They are also
expert archers.

Mv - 4
WS - 2
BS - 3
Att - 1
W - 2
AC - 7
SV - F1

Small But Vicious Dog - Advanced Careers

So there is a cool game out there called Small But Vicious Dog, which is a hack of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay for B/X. Like WFRP, the game has careers, but no advance careers. So below I offer a solution! When you reach 8000 XP, you can take one of these careers as well as the additional abilities granted to the player's class. The career you get grants a new career skill as well as trappings.

Academic - Academics get access to an arcane lore of their choice (Chaos, College, Holy, etc.). Your casting die increases to 3. Wounds increase to 6 + 4d4

Roll 1d10 if you feel lucky
1. Alchemist - Chemistry, alchemist tools
2. Artisan - Craft Skill, tools of the trade
3. Cleric - Secret language (classical), holy doctrine
4. Demogogue - Blather, pamphlets
5. Druidic Priest - Animal care, game meat
6. Lawyer - Law, lawyer's wig and gown
7. Merchant - Evaluate, employ of d3 scribes
8. Physician - Medicine, black medicine bag, "crow" gas mask
9. Scholar - Scholarly Lore (Choose astronomy, cartography, etc.), writing equipment
10. Wizard - Secret language (magick), arcane tome

Warrior - Warriors can re-roll a failed attack roll once per battle, though they must keep the new roll even if it's worse. Your WS bonus increases to +4. Wounds increase to 6 + 4d8

Roll 1d8
1. Duellist - Disarm, left-hand dagger
2. Freelancer - Ride Horse, horse and saddle
3. Judicial Champion - Dodge blow, signature weapon
4. Mercenary Captain - Heraldry, flask of alcohol
5. Outlaw Chief - Follow trail, bow or crossbow
6. Sea Captain - Boat building, telescope
7. Templar - Secret signs (templar), religious symbol
8. Witch-hunter - Sixth sense, hand weapon and d4 throwing knives

Ranger - If rangers spend an action aiming, they add +1 to their ranged attack rolls. Your RS bonuse increases to +4. Wounds increase to 6 + 4d6

Roll 1d8
1. Artillerist - Carpentry, Charts and tables
2. Explorer - Cartography, d6 maps
3. Gunner - Engineer, charts and tables
4. Highwayman - Wit, a mask
5. Navigator - Astronomy, compass, sextant, etc.
6. Scout - Ride horse, horse with saddle
7. Slaver - Strike to stun, d4 manacles and 10 yds of rope
8. Targeteer - Marksmanship, bow or crossbow

Marksmanship - Can make called shots with only a -1 penalty.

Rogue - If you spend at least two rounds studying an enemy and make a successful sneak attack, they enemy must make a save or die instantly. Some enemies without easily discernable anatomies can't be affected by this. Your sneak attack bonus becomes x3. Wounds increase to 6 + 4d6

Roll 1d8
1. Assassin - Disguise, garrotte
2. Charlatan - Charm, d6 various fake compounds
3. Counterfeiter - Metallurgy, metalworking tools
4. Fence - Palm object, large overcoat with many pockets
5. Forger - Forgery, engraving tools
6. Racketeer - Dodge blow, broad-brimmed hat and knuckledusters
7. Spy - Shadowing, codebook, d4 homing pigeons
8. Torturer - Torture, d10 knives, whips and irons

Here are some small Lore spell lists, focusing on the 8 winds of magic. Each has about three spells and most of these can be found in B/X. The small amount I think lends itself well to the low magic of the game, and I tried to find spell analogues that best showed what the lore did. Divine Lores may come in the future, probably

Lore of Beasts

Calm the Wild Beast (14) - As Charm Monster, only works on animals
Form of the Wild (14) - As Polymorph Self
The Beast Unleashed (12) - As Animal Growth

Lore of Death

Deathsight (10) - As detect invisible
Wind of Death (18) - As death spell
Final Words (8) - Can speak with the dead

Lore of Fire

Fireball (12) - As fireball
Shield of Aqshy (14) - As wall of fire
Crown of Fire (10) - As bless

Lore of the Heavens

Lightning Bolt (12) - As lightning bolt
Curse (10) - As curse
Omen (14)- Can divine the future in a limited way

Lore of Life

Curse of Thorns (10)- As web
Spring Bloom (14) - As plant growth
Earth Gate (18) - As move earth

Lore of Light

Healing of Hysh (14) - As cure serious wounds
Blinding Light (10) - As continual light
Banish (16)- As turn undead against daemons

Lore of Metal

Armour of Lead (12) - As slow
Curse of Rust (16) - As disintegrate, but only on metal
Law of Logic (14) - As detect lie

Lore of Shadow

Shroud of Invisibility (10)- As invisibility
Bewilder (14) - As confusion
Illusion (10) - As phantasmal force

Stars Without Number - Warhammer 40k Chambers Militant

My second entry on 40k via SWN, this will focus on the various military organizations that the Inquisition has access to. What's difficult about this is that two of the Chambers Militant, the Grey Knights and the Deathwatch, are both Space Marine chapters, and if you know anything about 40k, you know the Marines are nigh unkillable. So as lame as it may sound, the Marines are going to get dumbed down. This is to put them on the same level as other players, as well as on the level of the last Chamber Militant, the Sisters of Battle.

The Deathwatch

The Chamber Militant of the Ordos Xeno, the Deathwatch stands unique amongst other Space Marine Chapters. Every member of a Deathwatch Killteam used to be one of the most exemplary squad members in a different chapter. The Deathwatch is composed of powerful warriors from all over the Thousand Chapters, and they have been tasked with hunting down to the Xeno threat. Clad in all black, except for one should that retains the colors of their old chapter, the Deathwatch are experienced and dangerous.

A Deathwatch member, like all Space Marines, must start with a Strength and Constitution of 14+. They are immune to poison and they start with an assault suit. They also have training in Exosuits. Deathwatch members also get a +1 skill bonus depending on what Chapter they hail from. What follows are the major chapters of the Imperium, but it is very easy to create your own.

Dark Angels - Stealth
White Scars - Navigation
Space Wolves - Survival
Imperial Fists - Tactics
Blood Angels - Combat (Any)
Iron Hands - Tech (Any)
Ultramarines - Leadership
Salamanders - Perception
Raven Guard - Athletics

Grey Knights

The Chamber Militant of the Ordos Malleus, the Grey Knights are a Space Marine chapter whose duty it is to hunt down and destroy the daemonic forces of Chaos threatening the Imperium. The Grey Knights are secretive, powerful and noble; though the Grey Knights do have Librarians, every Knight has at least some marginal psychic ability. Their gleaming halberds and grey armor can leave any daemon trembling.

A Grey Knight, like all Space Marines, must start with a Strength and Constitution of 14+. They are immune to poison and they start with an assault suit. They also have training in Exosuits. Every Grey Knight has mastery of one level 1 psychic power, with the Discipline chosen by the player.

Sisters of Battle

Known as the Daughters of the Emperor, the Sisters of Battle are the Chamber Militant of the Ordos Hereticus and a branch of the Adepta Sororitas. Powerful female warriors who have undying faith in the God-Emperor. Sometimes called "female Space Marines," the Sisters do not undergo the painful genetic modifications that their Brothers do. Regardless, each is as powerful and deadly as any Astartes, and their desire to purge heretics is unfaltering.

Sisters of Battle must have a Wisdom of 14+. They too start with an assualt suit, as well as training in Exosuits. Sisters are also highly intelligent on many matters, making them automatically trained in Culture/Traveller, Languages and Tech/Medical.

Tell me what you think! Too powerful? Too limiting? Let me know.

Stars Without Number - Warhammer 40k Abhumans

If you didn't know, The Retired Adventurer has some lovely rules changes to Stars Without Number to play in the grim-dark-grimness of the Imperium of Man. The rules as is are tailored kind of towards Dark Heresy play, which is low-level inquistors out exploring the universe, which I find is a perfect level for SWN and the best way for Warhammer players to really "get into the shit."

However, for the next few posts I'm gonna elaborate on the character options to make the options a bit more inquisition, and Imperium, inclusive. This means I'll cover the mutated Abhumans, Space Marines (Grey Knights and the Death Watch, specifically) and the Adeptus Sororitas. But first, the Abhumans!

Ogryns

Ogryns are huge abhumans, often employed in the Imperial Guard as heavy weapons troops. Groomed on numerous death and hell worlds, an ogryn is designed for only one thing: survival. They rarely win any debates, but rumors tell of ogryn easily besting some Space Marines in unarmed combat.

Ogryns must have Strength 14+. Ogryns can literally eat anything for survival, though poisons still affect them. They are automatically trained in Survival.

Ratlings

Ratlings are small, loud and annoying creatures with hairy feet and bad attitudes. Despite this, the Imperial Guard can rarely find a better pathfinder or sniper than a ratling. Entire companies of ratling snipers have single-handedly won campaigns, only to later go off and get piss-drunk. Despite this, they are useful allies.

Ratlings must have a Dexterity of 14+. Ratlings have almost preternatural aim; they don't suffer the normal -2 penalty to shoot beyond normal range.

Beastmen

Fairly rare abhumans, beastmen have features of, well, beasts. The most common features are goat-like, with the beastmen often looking like satyrs with goatish heads. Beastmen are fairly maligned, more than any other race, as many believe them to be straddling the lines of chaos. Ironically, beastmen are some of the best at tracking down corruption.

Beastmen can not have a Charisma of 9+. Beastmen can actually sniff out Chaos on a successful Perception roll, being able to smell the evil taint. Beastmen also can head-butt with their horns, dealing 1d6 damage.

Squats

Squats are a nearly dead branch of abhumans, nearly completely wiped out by the Tyranids. Those that remain are usually in the Imperial Guard serving as mechanics, pilots and so on due to the squat's natural affinity to technology. Short due to their lives on high gravity worlds, they appear much like humans save for their stature and general harriness.

Squats must have a Constitution of 14+. Squats are trained in Tech/Any and Vehicle/Any.

Beer & Tequila - Drinking Rules for B&T

I thought for a fun distraction when you don't want to take a game night too seriously, I would find a way to make B&T (or really any fantasy RPG) into a drinking game. The rules are fairly easy. The rules are designed to be played with beer, but hard liquor can also be used at your own caution

The Players Drink:

When they use a class ability (casting a spell, bardic knowledge, shapeshift, etc.)
They use/activate a magic item
They rest for the night
They find a loot stash (All players drink)
When they purchase items
They fail a saving throw or heroic task

The GM Drinks:

When a group of your monsters dies (all skeletons in a fight, all goblins, etc.)
When the player's avoid a trap
When you use "DM intervention" ("The lich didn't really die")
When the player's ignore something obvious
You fudge a roll
You make an NPC go against their personality/alignment

Everyone Drinks

When a quest/objective is completed
When a new town/NPC/dungeon is introduced
Someone rolls a fumble
Someone rolls a critical
An inside joke is told (You know your group has some)
The game gets sidetracked

Finish Your Drink

A character falls unconscious (Player of dead character finishes)
A character acts against their alignment
Someone acts like a mary-sue or power gamer
The boss is killed (GM drinks)
You get poisoned/diseased
You have to scramble to adapt to the player's decision (GM drinks)


That's all for now. Give it a try and tell me if you get smashed, either by alcohol or a goblin! Drink and quest responsibly.

Dungeon World - Alignments/Races for Monk and Barbarian

Blackfoot, Orc Monk

So I do like other games besides B&T; I also like Dungeon World! There are two great files out there (here and here) that list how to play the base classes in DW using any class or alignment. While this is complete for the core game, the Barbarian class and Peter Johansen's Monk class do not have such a thing. So here are my ideas for them

Barbarian Alignments

Lawful - Uphold an ancient law of your tribe

Good - Help those faced with destruction

Evil - Destroy for the sake of destruction

Barbarian Races

No need, as any race can be a Barbarian.

Monk Alignments

Chaotic - Fight someone for the smallest indiscretion

Monk Races

Halfling - You manage to get out of the stickiest of situations in a rather stylish manner. When you use your grace to avoid harm, you can spend 1 ki to take +1 forward to Defy Danger.

Elf - You always offer sage wisdom behind your strength. When you spend a minute to focus your mind, ask "How can we avoid violence?" and the GM will answer you, honestly.

Orc - You can focus your people's fury into martial grace. Your unarmed attacks always have the forceful tag

Blood & Treasure - Corruption

Archibald the Grand,
13th level sorcerer with a severe corruption

Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and no force on earth is more powerful than arcane magic. When you cast a spell, you deal with mystical energies man was never meant to tamper with, let alone know about. Magic involves bending and breaking the laws of the universe, and some beings beyond mortal ken do not appreciate little specks of dirt meddling in their realms. They know mortals can not handle the universal power of magic, and they can see it in the very physical corruption of magic-users.

Corruption is an optional rule to make casting spells more dangerous for arcane casters, namely the magic-user and sorcerer. While the bard and the assassin both use magic, they access it through different and safer means. Clerics, druids, rangers and paladins must appeal to deities to keep their powers, so a check is already placed against them. However, magic-users and sorcerers, who have almost unlimited access to powerful energies, risk their humanity with every spell cast.

When a magic-user or sorcerer casts a spell, they must make a Will save, often called a "casting roll". This save has a penalty on it equal to the level of the spell being cast. Thus, a level 10 magic-user casting a level 4 spell would have to roll higher than 14 on their save. Regardless if they fail or not, the spell is cast. However, if the save is failed, the caster suffers corruption. Corruption comes in three levels: minor, major and severe. The level of corruption is determined by the difference in what you rolled and the Will save. To go back to the 10th level wizard, if the caster rolled a 10, the difference would be 4 and the caster
would obtain a minor corruption. If he rolled a 5, the difference would be 9 and would result in a major corruption. The ranges are listed below:

1 to 5, Minor
6 to 10, Major
11+, Severe

As a small gift, cantrips don't require casting rolls.

Corruption Tables

Below are some example tables to randomly roll for corruptions. These are not iron clad, and can be added to or taken away from. The basic rule is minor corruptions are small and sometimes temporary, major marks you as unnatural, and severe change your character entirely. The penalties to Charisma only apply to interactions with others; a sorcerer's spellcasting is not affected by being corrupted.

Minor Corruption

Minor corruptions are small changes that are not always permanent. Every time you gain a minor corruption, you gain a cumulative 5% chance that the change is permanent. Otherwise, the malady disappears at sunrise. Usually these changes can be concealed, but if they are revealed, they give a -1 penalty to Charisma for each corruption.

1. Your skin/hair/eyes/teeth and nails (1d4) take on an unnatural hue (for your race).
2. All your hair falls out, including body hair. If not permanent, regrows at the natural rate. Alternatively, you could grow a thicker layer of hair.
3. You give off a strong, unnatural odor like brimstone, burnt ozone or decay.
4. You obtain a strange tick, such as a twitchy eye, nervous whistling or constantly biting your nails.
5. You become extrmely paranoid something is out to get you.
6. You whisper blasphemous things under your breath.
7. You see things that aren't there, such as phantom shadows or unowned footfalls.
8. You hear things that aren't there; voices, growls, whispers, etc.
9. Food and drink tastes rotted to you, and possibly appears ass such.
10. You have terrible dreams of strange creatures, locales and beings stronger than the gods

Major Corruption

Major corruptions impart major physical or mental changes on the user. They are always permanent. Each corruption always impart a -2 penalty to Charisma, unless the change can somehow be hidden (which is quite difficult)

1. You grow 1d2 new eyes. They are usually on your face, but they could be elsewhere. Imparts no abilities
2. Grow a new mouth, either on your palms or torso. They can inflict a bite attack that deals 1d6 damage.
3. Your skin breaks out in disgusting, putrid boils.
4. You ooze something when you cast a spell, such as bile, blood, vomit, etc.
5. Something unhinges in your mind. Once a day, you can converse in Felltongue, a blasphemous language that anyone can understand but usually terrifies the listener
6. Something is following you, for real this time. It's always behind you, waiting until your vulnerable to destroy your very being.
7. You grow or shrink in size noticeably, up to a foot either way. This does not look like natural growth; your body is the same size, but your limbs are unnaturally
long or short.
8. You become either extremely corpulent or as skinny as a rail. No matter what you eat or how much, you are never satisfied
9. You hunger for something strange; human flesh, souls, gems and so on
10. You skin constantly peels and cracks painfully.
11. Your bones become very brittle; falling even a few feet could possibly result in a broken limb.
12. Something speaks to you directly, inhabiting your headspace. It could be a demon, an outsider or just your raving delusions, but the voice is real and speaks
to you
13. You open a gate to a realm that man was never meant to see for only a moment. You are forever haunted by its contents.
14. Some part of you takes on an animalistic appearance. Your arms grow scales, your fingers gain octopus-like suckers and so on. Usually hard to conceal without a robe
15. You see a vision of someone close to you, showcasing how they will die. You will be helpless to change the outcome. Sometimes, you view your own death
16. Holy items are painful for you to touch, dealing 2d6 damage on simple touch. It is difficult for you to enter churches or other places of worship
17. You can see magic. Not spells, but the very threads of magic inherent in the atmosphere. They are both beautiful and terrifying
18. You give off am ambient energy. It could be unnatural heat, malevolence, sickness or anything else
19. You have gained some god's ire. While they are usually not too concerned to do anything personally, you may start fighting an unusually high number of that god's faithful
20. Some people or creatures start to view you as an avatar of chaos, for better or worse.

Severe

Sever corruptions should always be unique and possibly campaign changing. If you gain a severe corruption, many humanoids will now believe you to be a monster and you'll have a difficult time interacting with civilization. Common changes involve new limbs, becoming clinically insane, being sucked into another dimension, instant death by being ripped apart by invisible forces, your body becoming composed of hive-mind worms and so on. As a rule of thumb, about 25% of severe corruptions result in characters dying or becoming NPCs. The rest are major changes.

Some upcoming stuff on Old Soul Games

Thought I'd give you a glimpse of some stuff I'm planning to post on here soon to get your revved up. All of them are mostly gonna be for B&T, but of course they can easily be converted to whatever

1. Corrupting magic. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and what's more powerful than being able to stop time? Influenced by things like DCC and Warhammer, the corruption rules will be pretty simple and will result in wizards second guessing if they REALLY wanna cast that Power Word: Kill if it means gaining a third new eye

2. Cybernetics, in a way. Inspired by Rippers and such, these cybernetics will involve ripping monster parts out of creatures and slapping them on your body via a skilled butche- I mean surgeon. Can range from simple replacements to direct upgrades.

3. Advanced tech. For when that magic sword is not enough, how about a magic blaster? This is intended for more S&S games where the current world is built upon the ruins of a much older and much more powerful one. Think Expedition to the Barrier Peaks or Metamorphosis Alpha.

The Endless Chain

A typical Kane warrior

I've decided to work on a setting for B&T, though it will be generic enough to work with basically any fantasy RPG. It's based on real world cultures on a psuedo-Earth known as Terra. Below is one of the nations, The Endless Chain, which is a mix of Polynesia and the Caribbean. Yes, I realize the Razor Coast does this very well, but I thought I'd add in my own spin. The setting will have 23 nations in total, as well as detailing the Darklands (Underdark/Hollow Earth) and the Planes (which will also be the Solar System).

I may condense the information, as my goal is to make each country have two pages max (my dream was 1 page max, but I don't know how possible that is). Also, this draft is rough; I'll come back and edit it, make it more fantastic and so on.

For the other nations mentioned in the text, Qin Chi is like Qin China, Kokahn is similar to Kahn Mongolia, the Silk Shogunate is a techno-revolution imperial Japan, the Steamlands is the dark, dinosaur filled jungles of Central Africa, and St. Fernando is a pastiche of Mediterranean religious conqueror states including Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece. Terah, Saharamir, Jumah and Nordov are continents, with the only one not being mentioned being Avadon. The Endless Chain is technically part of Jumah.

Anyway, enjoy!

The Endless Chain

Geography

The Endless Chain, oftentimes called just "The Chain," is a giant archipelego situated
in the Great Sea, the huge body of water that touches Terah, Saharamir, Jumah and Nordov.
The Great Sea itself is dangerous, with dangerous weather patterns and deadly sea creatures
such as sharks and krakens. The islands of the Chain are relatively unexplored for two reasons, the first being a large coral reef called the Kraken's Teeth that has long blocked off the largest part of the Chain.
The other reason is that the islands of the Chain move through the waters like slow boats, with only
a few staying stationary. The islands are full of hot jungles and deep marshes, as well as many active volcanoes. Fortune seekers from all over Terra flock to the Chain to tap into the old ruins and caves of the numerous islands, and they all flock to the port of Ford's Folly. Meanwhile, native Chain dwellers are either actively hostile against the colonists or are trying to preserve what little is left of their ancestral homes.

History

The native residents of the Endless Chain, who call themselves the Kane, have always dwelt among the beautiful islands. Among the waterfalls, valleys, jungles and mountains, they had a simple life trading between islands on their canoes and spending time on their native island among their kin. The Kane had plotted out many of the movements of the wandering islands, and even knew which ones contained wicked creatures to avoid.

About 30 years ago, a giant hurricane known as the Wrack Storm swept through Terra, hitting the Endless Chain fairly hard. Kane ships and towns were destroyed, but they did rebuild. However, the night after the Wrack Storm hit, the Kane of the island of Kua'a'toa found a giant ship unlike they had ever seen smashed into their shore.

The ship was a trading vessel captained by Jacob Ford, who was sending a shipment of rice between Kokahn and Qin Chi when he got caught in the storm. Looking for shelter, he found the infamous Kraken's Teeth had broken open, and beyond he saw calmer waters. However, a rogue wave made his vessel smash into the shore. At first, the Kane welcomed Ford with open arms and a general helping of suspicion, but after a week of rest, feasting and enjoying the company of Kane women, Ford was canoed back to the nearby Silk Shogunate.

The Kane thought they were rid of the foreign "haole," but a few months later, more ships even larger than Ford's started funneling in through the Teeth. And most of these people were not kind. Their ships bristled with cannons and black flags flapped on their masts.

In a matter of months, a huge port was build around Ford's crashed ship and was dubbed Ford's Folly.
Though the Kane tried to fight back, the haole's firepower was too much and drove them off the island. Now, the Chain runs rampant with trade and piracy, with Ford's Folly as the center, and all the Kane can do is either hide or wait for the right moment to strike back.

People

The Kane are a distinctive people, to say the least. They are strong, their skin toned and dark, continually lashed by the salt air. They have dark hair and dark eyes, and while they often grow their hair long, men rarely sport beards. Many mainland scholars believe them to be descendants of the Kokahn, but both the Kane and Kokahni find this very insulting. The Kane dwell in close knit clans, and though they wear little clothing, their skin is itched in intricate and meaningful tattoos. What clothing they do wear usually constitutes
as a cloth wrapping for men, or a cloth or grass skirt for women; both sexes rarely wear shirts. Jewelry is also common, made of sea life and volcanic rock, with nose and ear piercings being common to the extreme. Most Kane are hard to outsiders, but treat friends and family with love and respect. Families are small, but clans can be quite sizable. Aside from humans, there have been reports of elvish and halfling natives. Ford's Folly, on the other hand, is inhabited by almost every race and creed imaginable, which the Kane call the "haole," which means "one without a home."

Ford's Folly is made up of hundreds of crashed ships, with inns being made of old prows and the town lookouts dwelling in old crow's nests. Though smaller foreigner ports exist in the Chain, none can
reach the heights of the Great Folly. The port is always busy, bringing in trade goods from all across Terra, both legitimate and illegal. Ford's Folly has little government, and is often seen as a hive of piracy. Black market deals, tavern brawls, murder, prostitution and thievery run rampant with little regard for anyone's safety. Clothes in Ford's Folly are cosmopolitan and liberal, often featuring loose shirts and coats,
wide hats, comfortable pantaloons and low-necked dresses.

Adventurers from Ford's Folly are varied, as they can literally be from anywhere in the world. Adventurers of the Kane are rare, but they are often out to right some wrong done to them in the past. Many Kane wield spears, clubs, daggers or shark-tooth tipped halberds into battle, while their armor is composed of natural materials like obsidian, turtle shells and magically-treated grass

Culture

Ford's Folly is really the only major non-Kane city in the Chain, but the Kane have numerous cities throughout the islands. Usually constructed near the shore, their homes are often made of palm leaves and wood and rarely consist of more than a few hundred residents. Many clans leave each other alone, but clan wars do break out. Ever since the Kraken's Teeth were broken, though, many clans are trying to fight off the ever advancing pirates and colonists.

The art of the Kane is mostly in the tattoos and large totem poles placed around their village; more tangible forms of art rarely last in the high humidity. Music and dance is important, with intricate war chants, erotic hula dances and dangerous fire eating being amazing spectacles at clan feasts. Food of the chain usually consists of sea food, which is always plentiful, or wild boar, insects and birds hunted from the jungles. The art of Ford's Folly is bawdy and almost non-existent; fiddle music and shanties are popular songs, and the only real art is stolen from the Kane in the form of their tattoos and piercings. Their food is also fish based, but the various cultures of the "haole" have resulted in many fusions of the colonists' native dishes

Government

The ruling body of Ford's Folly is made of seven rulers known as the League, who are usually either retired pirates or merchant princes. The League is both rowdy and lazy, only arguing when money is an issue and waving away non-important issues. The only laws they actively enforce are the ones that will promote trade and better line their pockets. Most crimes are dealt with by imprisonment or exile, or possibly the removal of hands for major thefts. Very rarely are there "proper" executions, though members of the League have been known to murder people who commit crimes against them. The current League leader is the former captain Henry LaCroix, a Steamlands native turned pirate who made a killing in selling his own people into slavery until he lost his left arm in a kraken attack, forcing his retirement.

The Kane are mostly lead by a council of elders who convenes every season. They discuss matters important to all the Kane tribes, but they rarely pass laws or policies. Village elders are the true leaders, with their guards and warriors serving as police of sorts. The Kane are peaceful, so even minor slander of honor
can be seen as a crime, but most of their laws are vague and based on tradition instead of hard and fast rules. Most crimes are dealt with by corporal punishment, usually with whipping by reeds or having hot coals applied to skin. Executions are only reserved for murders, and usually result in either being thrown to sharks or being sacrificed to one of the numerous volcanoes of the islands.

Gazetteer

Ford's Folly - As said before, Ford's Folly is a haven of pirates and crime. A local haunt for scum looking
for work (or workers) is The Busty Orc, a large and rowdy tavern where a flaggon of mead only costs 2 cp. Zhang's Manegarie is Ford's Folly's imminent magic shop, owned by Qin Chi native Mu Zhang. The Black Anchor is a popular tattoo parlor, and the docks of the city always brim with ships carrying goods ranging from grains to whales to drugs.

Mt. Makua - The largest active volcano in the Chain, it's located about 100 miles north of Ford's Folly. It constantly belches out smoke, but a proper eruption has not happened in ages. Many native halflings live at the base of the mountain, though their skin is dark and their hair wild. The Kane call these halflings "menehune," and they dwell in the rocks of Makua and worship the mountain as a god. The Kane and the colonists fear them, but the menehune are just territorial.

Misery Falls - Located on one of the many wandering islands of the Chain, Misery Falls is what one dwarven scholar has called the "great failed experiment." Dwarven colonists found the rocks and slopes around the majestic waterfall full of gems, metals and building stone. However, they were assualted on all sides by Kane elves and wild animals. The dwarves struck a deal with the elves; if they protected the dwarves from the animals, the dwarves would provide all the food and riches the elves could want.
While they agreed, tempers soon flared when it was found that both parties were playing each other for fools. Now the hybrid city is at a civil war of sorts, with no real end in site.

Ho'kai'mai - Ho'kai'mai is the traditional homeland of the Kane, as well as what could be considered their "capital." The city is built in and around Ho'kai Bay, with the various buildings being built on pylons that hold the city above the waters. Travel is handled by canoe or swimming, and the Kane live in harmony with the sea life they swim with. The city is well defended as the side opposite the bay is full of dense and dangerous jungles that the Kane know like the back of their hand. It is here the council of elders convenes in the House of the Great Gods, the oldest native temple in the Chain. The Kane do not care for money, and their various market stalls use barter or trade. If the Kane accept you, you will have a difficult time finding a more welcoming city in all of Terra.

Wandering Isles - Though a large majority of the islands that skirt around the Endles Chain have been touched by the Kane, some have never had demi-human feet trod upon them. Deep in the jungles, swamps and mountains holds ancient civilizations of orcs, aboleths and drow. The stinking marshes hold entrances to the Darklands and even more fell places. These ancient ruins and cities not only abound with dangers, but riches. The wrecks of ships and pirate skeletons on the shore can attest to both facts. In between, the Great Sea is a dangerous place; pirates with all sorts of writs, allegiances and goals plow the channels for traders and enemies, striking and pillaging with abandon. Captain Redhawke is the most notorious pirate on the waters, a former paladin from St. Fernando that believes every ship he sinks brings him closer to divine glory.

Blood & Treasure - Godhood

Obad-hai

I thought it would be interesting if B&T had a system to ascend to godhood, and so I wrote one! It's rough, vague and narrative, but I think it is cool and can be easily used in any other system.

Godhood

Becoming a god is not the goal of every adventure, but sometimes their legend transcends them and they become something more than human. They may be mortal, but no mere mortal could have slayed a demon lord, could he? At times, the gods do take notice of a champion and decide to exalt them to that status of a god. If you are lucky enough for the gods to turn their eyes on you, here is how you become a celestial being.

Being Sponsored

You may have a loyal group of followers, and even some villagers who believe you to be a god due to your accomplishments. While you may feel divine, you aren't yet. The only way a mortal can become a god is if they are sponsored by another god. A god's sponsorship takes a lot out of your lord, so you best not dissapoint them.

There is no mechanical means to be sponsored. Sometimes a god will come to you, sometimes you will petition a god, or perhaps some artifact somewhere promises sponsorship for whoever retrieves it. Either way, you and the other players should discuss with the GM if godhood is right for you and the campaign's direction.

There are also no real requirements for sponsorship on the player's part. Though it is assumed the path to ascension begins at level 20, you could even begin as fledgling gods at level 1. Once again, talk to your GM about the details.

Your patron god will mold you, influence you and teach you the ways of godhood. You'll directly report to them, and they will hold you accountable for straying along the Path. The Purview you gain in the Flame step is usually related to your patron in some way; if your patron is the god of fire, you may gain a purview
of lava, or if you are ballsy, a purview of fire to directly compete with your teacher.

Divine Steps

The path to divinity is long and winding, and often called the Flaming Road. At the start of the Road, you are just a divine Spark eager to realize your true power. Eventually through hard work, you will reach full Radiance and become a true god. To proceed down this path, you need followers.

Followers

Followers are those mortals that believe that you are a god, or at least believe you can rise to the ranks of one. You can attract followers a number of ways, but the easiest way is by word of mouth to spread your Legend. Sometimes you'll do this by yourself, and other times allies or regular followers will spread your Legend.

Once a month, you will roll to see if your Legend has spread and how much. For every step on the Flaming Road, you have a base 5% chance, as well as a further 5% chance per 5 class levels you have. The GM will offer other modifiers, such as having witnesses to the event or physical proof. The Legend chance can never rise above 99%. If you roll equal to or under your Legend chance, your Legend has spread. This attracts 1d10 followers times a number depending on your step on the  Flaming Road (1 for Spark, 10 for Ember, 100 for Flame, 1000 for Inferno, 10,000 for Radiance).

Losing Followers

Just as you can gain followers, you can lose them. Perhaps you do an unfavorable deed, or a rival god steals away some of your followers. Losing followers should not be randomly rolled, though the amount lost should be. If losing followers ever dips a potential god down a step on the Flaming Road, they lose all the benefits
of the step they fell out of and must regain them once they reach enough followers.

Flaming Road Steps

The Flaming Road has 5 steps, and going along them requires you to have a certain number of followers. Followers empower you with their belief, tithes and ceremonies, and the more you have the more powerful you become. When you start out as a Spark, you do not need to have any followers, but becoming Radiant
requires recognition across the world. Below are the requirements to reach each step.

Spark - None, requires sponsorship
Ember - 100 followers
Flame - 1,000 followers
Inferno - 10,000 followers
Radiance - 100,000 followers

Even in modern times, a religion having 100,000 followers is nothing to scoff at. However, in countries with medieval level populations, having 100,000 followers could easily mean a huge majority follows you

Every step down the Flaming Road brings benefits, which are listed below. In addition, whenever you reach a new step, you can increase two of your attribute
scores by 1 point each. Each attribute can only be increased twice, however.

Spark - You gain a divine sense. If you concentrate for 10 minutes, you can hear any prayers from your followers. You can "zero in" on these prayers, allowing you to know where the prayer is coming from, no matter how distant. For example, you could sense a villager pleading for your help as he is being dragged into the wilderness by gnolls, and you could tell the general area he was in when he made the prayer.

Ember - You can twist fate, causing something to occur that was not supposed to. You can alter a minor event once a day, a major event once a week and a world-changing event once per year. A minor event would be something like not dropping a weapon or making a failed spell cast succesffully. A major event would be something like saving a life, preventing a building from being destroyed or curing an illness. A world changing event would be stopping the advance of an empire, striking down a lich lord and so on.

Flame - You have gained a purview, also called a domain, that you have control over. This could be something as broad as fire to something as narrow as dogs. You gain a new Heroic Task known as Purview that you are skilled in, and both the Save and Attribute modifier it requires should be discussed with your GM, as each Purview will be different. Your Purview should be related to your character; if your magic user was a fell necromancer and suddenly wanted to gain the Purview of Life, that should be a hard sell.

Whenever you want to do anything involving your Purview, you roll a Heroic Task with difficulty modifiers applied based on the complexity of the task. If a character with the Purview of Birds wanted to just speak with a bird, no modifier should be applied. However, if he wanted to summon a whole flock of griffins to attack a castle, he should expect a pretty hefty penalty. Gods on the Flaming Road are not meant to be all-powerful; they still have flaws and foibles, and they can't always do exactly what they want, or even have the ability to do it.

Inferno - You can invest your power in items and people. Investing your power in an item creates an artifact that you and the GM design jointly, and this is the only way for a character to create such a powerful magic item. Creating an artifact drains you, preventing you from making another artifact for at least a year, possibly longer if the artifact is especially dangerous.

Investing your power in a person gives them sponsorship, just like your patron gave you. You can only have one "student" at a time, and you can't get a new one until they reach the Flame step

Radiance - Your journey along the Flaming Path is complete, and you have become a god. You are effectively immortal; if you are killed, you will return after a week no worse for wear. You also gain a godhome, a celestial (or infernal) palace where your followers will dwell in the afterlife and you can rest at. You gain a cadre of angelic (or demonic) servants, usually 1 for every 100 followers you have. From your godhome, you can travel to any place on the planes where you can hear your follower's prayers. Groups of adventurers often form their own pantheon and share a godhome, but the mechanics are the same.

Alternatively, you can choose to ascend. You become a pure spiritual being who dwells forever in your godhome, but you become an NPC. If their is any "end game", you have reached it.

More Owl Hoot Trail Races

I'm really enjoying how easy it is to make a race for Owl Hoot Trail. Thus, here are a few more!

Scalies

Scalies are from way down south in the hot parts of the Earth, living in the deserts, jungles and swamps. While they usually look like big ol' humanoid lizards, they can look like any reptile or amphibian ranging from gators to frogs to snakes. Scalies have a lot of old and weird gods they love to pray to, and they are usually dressed in feathers and grass. Their cities are huge and old.
Scalies are often gunslingers,scoundrels, scouts, preachers and shamans.
Scalies get +1 DRAW and +1 Wilderness. Scalies are cold blooded, and they can function in extreme heat and cold without much protection.

'Digos

Short for wendigos, digos are human-like folk that are covered in fine tufts of fur. They also usually have jagged teeth and sharp claws. 'Digos are from way up north, calling the mountains and the arctic their home. Some people think they are related to lycanthropes, but the 'digos ain't talking.
'Digos are often gunslingers, marshals, ruffians, scoundrels, scouts and shamans.
'Digos get +1 GRIT and +1 Wilderness. 'Digos are an angry folk, suffering a -2 to Amity. In exchange, they can get angry once a day, causing +2 damage for the rest of a scene. They also have natural claws that deal 1d6 damage.

Fae

The fae are thought to be distant ancestors to the shee, coming from the birthplace of all shee. Fae look like their pointy ear cousins, and yet they don't. They are more regal, tall and aloof. Some are full of the beauty of the wild, others are darkened by shadow, and still others gaze longingly at the stars.
Fae are often gunslingers, marshals, scouts, shamans and mentalists.
Fae get +1 WITS and +1 Amity. Fae can teleport to short distances they can see once per scene.

Morphs

Morphs, sometimes called changelings, are spooky creatures. They look like humans, except their facial features are muted and barely there. They don't even have pupils, which can rustle some peoples spurs. A lot of myths show up where a morphs will kill a person and impersonate them forever, but morphs don't usually do that.
Morphs are often gunslingers, scouts, scoundrels, mentalists and gadgeteers.
Morphs get +1 GRIT and +1 Wile. Morphs can make themselves look like any other humanoid varmint for up to 4 hours. The problem is they have to touch the poor sucker to assume their form.

Pix

Little sprite folk, pixs are tiny little buggers, only ever reaching about 3 feet tall. They have a set of wings on their backs; they usually look like butterfly wings, but they can be any kid. Pix are often seen as "annoying" and "ignorant", but all they want to do is have some fun. Sometimes the fun can make someone dead, though.
Pix are often gunslingers, scouts, scoundrels, shamans and mentalists.
Pix get +1 DRAW and +1 Wile. Pix are fairly frail, so they are Sickly 1. In exchange, their quickness gives them+1 to their defense score. They are also able to fly short distances, though they can't attack while flying.

Atomic Highway - Cyborg Characters

I like Atomic Highway, and though I know the final supplement of Gunmetal Road is supposed to include cybernetics, updates on the document are patchy due to the author's life circumstances (which I don't blame him for.) So here is a suggested simple cybernetic system to use until the official rules are out! Weee!

Cyborgs

Any character can generally have cybernetic parts, even mutated plants. Cybernetic parts can range from x-ray eyes to bionic limbs and more.

If you have cybernetic parts, you must take the Flaw: Cybe. Like the Mutie flaw, the Cybe flaw will cast you in an unfavorable light with some people. If you're both a Mutie and a Cybe, good luck.

A piece of cybernetics can either take the form of a regular piece of equipment or a mutation. A character can only ever have a number of cybernetics up to their Toughness score. Cybernetics are basically "willful" mutations you have installed, and better yet, having one does not require you to take a balancing flaw.

There are drawbacks, however. For every certain percentage of your health you lose, one of your cybernetics ceases to function. The amount of health depends on how many modifications you have. If you have only one, it stops working at half health. If you have two, each stops working when you lose 1/3 of your health and so on. They will come back online once you heal, but being injured could very well leave you short a needed weapon or ability.

Further, cybernetics are hard to find and hard to install. Trading for one usually involves some kind of large favor or task, not just a simple pile of junk. The mod may also not be exactly what you're looking for.

To install the mod, you have to have someone else do it. The procedure usually takes a day, and at the end of the operation, the character must make a Toughness test. If they pass, the surgery took and you have a shiny new robo-arm. If you failed, your body rejected the implant and you have wasted your money, time and probably a body part. Feel free to increase the difficulty of the test if the mod is powerful or the doctor was a butcher.

Owl Hoot Trail Race - Gears

So Owl Hoot Trail recently got released as a PDF by Pelgrane Press. It's a neat little fantasy western game, and probably the best one I've seen aside from Deadlands. There are five races in the book, as well as some bonus ones like tieflings and centaurs on the Pelgrane site. However, I noticed they were missing a distinct race: steampunk robots! What Old West fantasy game would be complete without them? So here is my write-up of the Gears!

Gears

Gears are big, hulkin', clankin' automotons cooked up by some crazy gadgeteers, either recently or long ago. Made of brass etched with really purty designs, gears are stoic, smart and powerful. Most gears are running from someone controlling them, always looking behind their shoulders. They aren't afraid to rough up a feller if it means survival.

Gears tend to be gunslingers, ruffians, scoundrels, scouts and, of course, gadgeteers.

Gears get +1 Grit and +1 Toughness. They are slow, only moving 1/2 as fast as any other race. In exchange, gears don't need to eat, drink or breathe. Gears also have a natural affinity with machinery. They get a +3 bonus to identify and fix almost any type of mechanical object.

Arcana Rising Example City

Madame LuFoix, high mage of Samedi's Staff

So I have become lucky enough to help John Berry edit his really awesome urban fantasy game, Arcana Rising. In the game is a city generator you can use to create your own mystical town full of danger. I thought I'd show you guys an example city so you can know what it's all about!

The Slumville of Fox Creek

Police Force

Response 13, Corruption -1, Knowledge 0

Key Locations

Burial Mound, Occult Bookstore, Black Bazaar, Ancient Graveyard

Factions 

Orcs (Major), Elves (Minimal), Naga (Major), Wizards (Major), Mob (Major)

Orcs: Friendly to Mob and Naga, Opposed to Wizards, Hostile to Elves
Elves: Allied to Mob and Wizards, Neutral to Naga, Hostile to Elves
Naga: Allied to Wizards, Friendly to Orcs, Neutral to Elves and Mob
Wizards: Opposed to Orcs, Allied to Elves, Naga and Mob
Mob: Friendly with Orcs, Allied with Elves and Wizards, Neutral to Naga

City History 

Major Export, Conversion, Faehome

Districts

Residential: Cypress Heights, Caiman Isle, Willow Creek
Commercial: Downtown, Sinner's Road
Industrial: The Hollows, Redville

Summary

Fox Creek is an old, old city about an hour outside of New Orleans. Settled on the banks of the Fox Swamp, Fox Creek used to be a sovereign state of the Chitimacha nation for hundreds of years, even during the era of Atlantis. The Chitimacha allied themselves with a local Naga population, who found the swampy waters around the city pleasing and full of food. In return for giving them shelter, the Naga generally held off the advancing Atlanteans until magic was sealed.

However, during the Intermagica, the white man swept across North America, and without the aid of the Naga, the Chitimacha could not hold them for long. The swamps around Fox Creek were full of peat and oil, useful in the industrial era. For years, oil and cypress were harvested from every corner of the land. Originally a Christian city after it was taken over, the introduction of native Haitians, Jamaicans and other Caribbean folk made voodoo a powerful force in the city.

When the seal on magic broke, Fox Creek was inundated by murky waters, and the Naga had returned to look for their allies. What was left of the Chitimacha had formed into the Green Scale Mob, and though they were glad to see their former friends, years of absence had made the natives bitter.

Fox Creek is a land of death, and the local wizard's circle of Samedi's Staff spend years researching the enormous Christian graveyard and old burial mound about a mile out of town. Their research has attracted a pocket of elves who wish to learn more of this "death magic" the wizards practice, and their introduction has brought in a huge arcane item trade. An incursion of orcs, meanwhile, threatens to destroy the history of the city to make way for whatever revolution the beasts are following today.


As you can see, it's really easy to make a super flavorful city. The whole creole-voodoo spirit vibe is great for this kind of game, so if I ran Fox Creek I'd for sure be throwing zombies, haints and swamp monsters at them as fast as I could.

Going through a transition

I'm finally doing it, I'm changing the blog from Pulpwood! to Old Soul Games. This is not out of any disdain for Pulpwood!, but rather a change of focus. This blog is not just about that game anymore, but RPGs in general. I'll probably be going with a generic background for a bit, but I hope you will support the pretty minor change

An Example Bloodline

Here's what a bloodline is basically like in the game. I've done three so far (this, vampires and lycanthropes), but you probably get the idea. The first two weaknesses are usually roleplaying oriented, while the last is
actually mechanical

Ghost
Auras of the Dead
You can sense dead spirits in the area, and can often speak to them. Due to the closing
of the Well of Souls, ghosts are in abundance and often hang around their bodies for long periods of times.
Three times a day, you can peak into the veil of death and see if there are any ghosts or spirits nearby.
These spectral creatures can see into the real world, so you can ask them a question or two before they
become distraught or depressed and no long wish to speak. You can also sense emotions of a person or place, such as telling if a place or body is tainted with violence or sadness.

Weakness: You feel like you have a purpose to fulfill, but you do not know what it is. It could
be to reconcile with someone, to create something or some other mission. You will do almost anything if
you think it could potentially help you in your mysterious quest.

Hide in the Crowd
You can not turn entirely invisible, but you can get damn close. Three times a day, you can
magically turn yourself nigh unseeable, granting a +4 bonus for opposed stealth checks for 10 minutes. You can even pick up objects and manipulate them, giving the sense that they are possessed. However, if you attack someone, they instantly know where you are and the penalty no longer applies. You could also be revealed by something being thrown on you, like paint or flour.

Weakness: Your skin turns cold to the touch, and you look as if you are hypothermic. The air around
you is cold as well, meaning very few people will want to be close to you for any extended period of time.

Spectral Phase
You can turn parts of your body insubstantial, allowing it to phase through objects as
if they weren't there. You can do this three times a day, and can phase through any solid object, including
bodies. If you make a difficulty 13 athletics check, you can phase your whole body through an object.

Weakness: You can easily be driven from a place ala an exorcism. While the exorcism does not harm you, if it is successful you can not enter the area for at least 24 hours. Powerful exorcisms can bar you from a place for decades if they are done right. Exorcisms are a Mental Effect Save, though the priest/exorciser must actually be trained in exorcisms. Every 2 points under your roll adds a unit of time i.e. if you fail by 2, you are barred for a day; by 4, barred for a week; by 6, barred for a month; by 8, barred for a season; by 10, barred for a year, and so on.

Supernatural game ideas

So I decided I'm not going to make a custom system for the game, as that would take too long and could be prone to bugs.

Instead, I am going to use the system present in the Sine Nomine games like Stars Without Number, Other Dust and Spears of the Dawn. There will still be three classes, but I know the system works well so it'll rock.

I'm also changing around how the races work a bit. Instead of being a pure zombie, mummy or whatever, you are instead a human instilled with basically a monstrous bloodline. You'd be human, but you'd have the lycanthrope bloodline. In total, there are 12 bloodlines and then a 13th "humanity" bloodline. Everyone has the humanity bloodline and then a monster bloodline.

The game will then have a corruption scale. If you become more monstrous, you get cool monster powers but also get the drawbacks of being that monster. For example, the lycanthrope bloodline will start off with the weakness of being very violent, unstable and, well, horny, on a certain phase of the moon. At the second level, the lycanthrope will get large amounts of hair and will look strange, but he'll be able to speak to animals now. At the third level, the lycanthrope will be able to shift parts of his body, like turning his hands into claws, but he will become severally allergic to silver and wolf's bane.

At the fourth level of corruption, you have fully turned, and you become an NPC probably. However, if you do awesome humanistic stuff, you'll go down the path of humanity and gain some powers. But as you become more human, you lose all that cool Hammer horror powers.

I'll probably also include rules to basically "multiclass" bloodlines, for those people who want to play a vampire/werewolf or whatever.

The bloodlines so far are Lycanthrope, Vampire, Golem, Hyde, Spirit (angels, demons, etc.), Ghost, Witch, Fae, Mummy, Gill-man, Slasher (serial killer), Zombie and Humanity. I don't know if they will change, but I like the solid power balance of "classic" monsters.

Supernatural Characters

I've been wanting to run a modern horror game in the style of WoD, but I honestly think WoD has a little unwelcome bloat. There is some hope though, as many horror games get released around the fall season including the very cool Spooks!, Accursed and the updated Book of Pandaemonium.

So I thought I'd jump on the band wagon and make a little game. Rules lite, takes some cues for WoD, but works on its own. The main meta plot involves the Well of Souls, which is where all life is born from and returns to. Guarded by celestial beings, it is somehow mysteriously closed off, trapping souls both inside and out. People are panicking, the dead are rising, and supernatural creatures are running amok. Your characters are part of a Cult, a group of people looking for the "Key" to unlock the Well of Souls again.

Characters are divided into cabals, which are different depending on the status of your soul.

Ghuls have no souls, but extreme force of will, and are thus undead abominations. This cabal includes mummies, zombies and vampires, all with flavorful names.

The Circe have two souls, and are at a constant war between their two halves. This cabal includes lycanthropes, changelings and Mr. Hyde type characters

The Dias are the former protectors of the Well of Souls. This cabal includes angels, demons and lovecraftian horrors.

The Fae have souls, but they are splintered and broken. This is the widest spread cabal, and deals with all mythical creatures ranging from centaurs to goblins.

The Neph have no bodies, but can not turn to the afterlife. This cabal includes golems, ghosts and nature spirits.

Then there are humans, of course. The group is composed of people that rely on natural ability, ones that rely on technology, and one that rely on a divine host.

The classes will be Warlock, Investigator and Soldier, and I want to have some sort of skill tree for the classes.

The resolution system is 2d6 plus modifier versus a target number. Skills work in that if you have the skill, you roll 3d6 and take the two dice. There will only be three stats, and there will be three "pools": magic, sanity and health.

I'm currently working on the races, which are coming along pretty well. No estimated date, but I feel it could be done before Halloween. Hope you guys think it sounds cool!

Possibly Doing a Layout Change

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but I may actually do it soon.

Originally, Pulpwood! was supposed to be a progress blog for my Pulpwood! game (which is once again being developed). However, it has transcended past that and turned into an RPG blog that focuses mostly on my game creations or whatever.

So soon, I will probably change the site to be "Old Soul Games" or something, which is what I've been doing projects under. The content will be the same, but the name, design and layout will mostly change.

I'm off for two weeks, so I have time to do such a thing, but hopefully it'll only take me an hour or two.

So anyway, just wanted to say that!

Sixth World - A Dungeon World Hack

So I helped make a thing!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/986437/sixth_world_revised.pdf

Sixth World is a Dungeon World hack that is used for playing in the Shadowrun universe. Primarily written by Chris Clouser, I jumped on at a later point mostly as an adviser/editor. Then I guess I gave him so much info, he decided to put me as co-author. Go figure.

Anyway, the game contains:

-Rules to play as the 5 classic metatypes, as well as suggestions on making stranger races
-10 Archetypes that allow multiclassing between them, keeping the "classless" spirit of SR. All your favorites are here, from Adept to Hacker to Rigger to Street Samurai
-Tons of equipment, spells, spirits, vehicles, cybernetics and rules on how to make and customize all of that! Yes, spell creation is in-built in the system
-A list of threats ranging from Lone Star Cops to Acid IC to Dragons
-Rules on stating out Sprawls and Wildernesses, allowing you to show how much of a threat Perils are to the city
-Quick and simple rules to facilitate narration over mechanics
-Rules for legwork that make a difference when it comes time to run.
-Rules for wireless hacking AND astral quests
-Optional rules for Blood Magic, Otakus and Gaeas

So yeah! Check it out!

Something I'd Like to See

I wish someone would make a hack of Eclipse Phase using Apocalypse/Dungeon World. I would do it, but I am working on Panopticon and Pulpwood!

Yes, you heard me right, Pulpwood. It'll be a different format, but I am sure it'll still be awesome. The big draw will be a crap-ton of setting blurbs, placed on a map of the world Indiana Jones style. It's coming along, but I'm not giving a day. It'll be done when its done

Panopticon is getting close to being some kind of playtest ready. I'm almost done with all the Upgrades, and the human classes are mostly done. Still, I have to hammer out psionics, gear and basic combat, but after that it should be easy. Combat will be pretty simple OD&D fair, adjusted mostly for the use of guns. That allows things like aim, burst fire and so on. It should be pretty ool

Preliminary Upgrades

I've been compiling ideas for that OSR cyberpunk game, tentatively entitled "Panopticon." Below is a list of
cyber/bioware, which includes modifications for the torso and the arms. I'm also having leg mods and head mods, but this is what I have so far.

Torso Upgrades

These upgrades are for systems located in your torso, or ones that run throughout your whole body.

Neoheart 
Your heart has been upgraded to increase circulation and efficency. Your Constitution score increases by 1. This Upgrade can be taken three times. Simply replacing a diseased heart only costs no power, and that type of neoheart can't malfunction. Note that Constitution modified by the neoheart does not allow for additional Upgrades.

Bone Weave
Your bones have been reinforced to be extra strong and resistant to damage. You gain an additional point of natural AC. This Upgrade can be taken twice.

Gigalungs
Your lungs have been upgraded, both in size and holding capacity. You can hold your breath for up to 20 minutes, sealing off your system from dangerous gases, water and vaccuum. Simply replacing a diseased lung costs no power, and that type of gigalung can't malfunction.

Muscle Threads
Your musculature has been fortified to make you stronger and tougher. Your Strength score increases by 1. This Upgrade can be taken three times.

Nerve Splits 
Your nerves have been branched and increased in output, allowing you to be faster and more responsive. Your Dexterity score increases by 1. This Upgrade can be taken three times.

Black Blood Cells
Your blood has been infused with black blood cells; hyper-fast nanobots that seek out and destroy pathogens hundreds of times faster than white blood cells. You become more resistant to disease, granting you a -2 bonus to saves involving avoiding them. This Upgrade can be taken twice.

Hardened Adipose
Your fat and skin tissues have been hardened, making you more resistant to damage. You gain 2 additional HP unmodified by Constitution. This Upgrade can be taken up to five times.

Magnetism
Your endocrine system has been augmented, releasing synth-pheremones in order to make you appear more attractive or influential. Your Charisma score increases by 1. This Upgrade can be taken three times.

Steel Gut
Your digestive system has been fortified with nanites and advanced bacteria. This makes you extremely resistant to poisons, both ingested and otherwise, granting you a -2 bonus to saves involving avoiding them. This Upgrade can be taken twice. Note that this upgrade also makes it quite difficult to get drunk, though now you can eat almost anything.

Cosmetic Alterations
These alterations include things such as animated tattoos, glowing eyes, elvish ears, strange colored skin or hair. These alterations do not cost any Power, but they cost credits like all Upgrades.

Arm Upgrades

These upgrades are used to replace and augment your arms and hands.

Cyberarm
This metallic arm replaces large portions, or perhaps the entire length, of a dismembered or missing arm. They range from high class and sleek to rusty and piecemeal. A cyberarm is needed to obtain the Sleeved Gun, Bicep Compartment and Inbuilt Compdeck Upgrades.

Sleeved Gun
You have a gun built within your cyberarm, which fires out of your palm and reloads through a feeder under the wrist. The gun must be small-arms and though only one weapon can be placed in an arm, it is possible to switch out guns (e.g. pistol for SMG). If you have two cyberarms, this Upgrade can be taken twice to provide a weapon for each.

Siberia Claws
You have mechanical or bony claws that extend out of the back of your knuckles. They function like a 1-handed melee weapon.

Bicep Compartment
You have a hollow storage space in your bicep that can only be unlocked by your brain. The space is large enough to hold a pistol or anything smaller. This Upgrade can be taken twice if you have two cyberarms.

Inbuilt Compdeck
Your Compdeck isn't handheld, but rather built into your forearm. This prevents your Compdeck from ever being stolen, unless someone wants to just rip your arm off (which some people do.)

Parker Tips
Your fingertips are laced with small barbs, allowing you to climb up vertical surfaces with little to no climbing gear.

Sworl Erase
Your fingertips have been scrubbed clean, leaving you lacking of fingerprints. While useful in avoiding the police, it's hard to access to anywhere without them.

Field Sensors

You have had magnets, or a biological equivalent, implanted under the skin of your palms and fingers. This allows you to feel energy fields, allowing you to discern their properties, where they are going and more.

A Basic Running System

And here is the draft system for net running! It's pretty easy since I treat running as more of a separate setting than one that requires a million rules. Still, I offer pretty easy to remember guidelines for all your running needs.

Running

When you enter the IntraNet, you are navigating the nearly infinite digital space with your mind. Your body, as well as all your gear, is sitting in situ (hopefully in a safe place). That doesn't mean you are unprotected in the IntraNet, however. Your mind is convinced it still has all its gear, but it is instead a manifestation of your mind, rather than a physical object. Still, while in IntraSpace, your brain becomes a computer for all intents and purposes. That mentally digitized gun may not be "real," but it can still lay the smack down.

Running is handled exactly like normal, real-life street missions. You have all your gear, and you look like your normal self, though you glow slightly blue and look digital. The difference is that you are no longer in the realm of the physical, but of the mental. That means when it comes down to fisticuffs, you have to flex your grey matter instead of  your muscle matter.

This translates in a few ways. First, Strength is no longer used to determine melee attack bonuses and damage. Intelligence takes up that roll. Second, your Dexterity is no longer used to determine ranged attack bonuses and AC. That is now Wisdom's job. Further, like you saw in character creation, you have two new stats while running: your FC, or Firewall Class, that acts as your AC while in digital space, and your SP, or Stress Points, that act as your HP.

IntraNet combat works exactly like regular combat as well, though instead of fighting gangers and corp security, you'll be tangling with ICEs, worms and more. These programs can take up thousands of forms, similar to your Avatars.

In this way, IntraNet running is a good way to get away from the normal cyberpunk aesthetics for the GM. Want to do a fantasy dungeon crawl? Have the runners visit a IntraSpace that emulates a medieval town, where malware in the shape of a fell drake constantly frags the inhabitants.

"Dying" in the IntraNet

While exploring the IntraNet, if your SP ever reaches 0, you will become "fragged." Fragging basically is the break-up of your digital form, causing your mind to refuse a connection with the IntraNet, thus jacking your consciousness out of the Net and shoving it back in your body. You will be unharmed, but mentally, you'll be exhausted. Fragging occurs after 1 minute of reaching 0 SP, so the runner's partners have time to revive him before he is booted out. SP heals at the same rate as HP.

However, if you reach into negative SPs, that could be a serious problem for you. When you plunge down into the negatives, your mind starts reeling and trying to destroy the "infected" parts of your brain to revive you. Your consciousness stays in the IntraSpace as your brain does its work, and you must make a Will save to stabilize, similar to stabilizing physical wounds.

If you do manage to stabilize, you are fragged instantly and tossed back into your body. People with negative SP will not only be mentally tired, but they'll often be confused, confrontational, depressed and forgetful until
their brain manages to self repair itself. SP can also be restored through visits to a psychologist, often called "brain docs". These aren't so much licensed psychoanalysists, but more programmers who jack into your access port and try to root out malicious programs. Both natural and assisted healing at negative SP works exactly like healing similar HPs.

At -10 SP, the runner is fragged instantly, shoved into his body, and either becomes irreversibly comatose or incredibly insane. That means it's time for a new character.

It is important to stress that when you are in the IntraNet, your body must be safe. While running, you can easily be killed, kidnapped or worse. Further more, if you are unexpectedly jacked out, your conciousness will be stuck in the IntraNet as your body stays as a potato. You can rejoin with your body if you can find where it was transferred to, but that in itself is a whole other adventure.

Entering, Exiting and Moving in the IntraNet

The actual process of entering the IntraNet is fairly easy; find a safe and comfy place to rest, insert the Jack Wire into your access port, and sink into the Net. Where you arrive in the IntraNet is a different story. Every IntraSpace has an IP address, similar to current computers. If you know the IP number of the IntraSpace you want to visit, you'll arrive there with little complications once you Jack in. A good deal of IP numbers are easy to find, but some, such as the IP of a megacorp's stock portfolio, will be extremely hard to locate and may require real-life hacking and infiltrating to get access to.

Most IPs won't actually drop you inside the IntraSpace, but rather right in front of it. If you want to get in,
you'll have to do it the old fashioned way.

If you don't know the IP, good luck. The IntraNet is vast, some say infinite, and finding anything is a bitch. You may find what you are looking for by wandering, as similar IP addresses are placed close together physically, but don't expect to drop into an IntraSpace city and find a gun smuggler's hideout with no effort. If you enter the IntraNet without knowing the IP, you'll drop into your personal IntraSpace, which usually takes the form of an apartment.

Entering and getting place to place in the IntraNet is fairly easy, but exiting is a different story. As stated in the previous section, getting fragged is the forceful way to leave the IntraNet. The willing way requires you to go back to the IP you entered from. Yes, this means you can't just go to the IntraSpace's core, grab the data you want, and then Jack out. You have to escape with the goods. However, once you get back to the IP, jacking out is basically instant.

The Core

All IntraSpaces have something called a core. The core represents the source code used to write the IntraSpace, as well as the hard drive which contains the more important and hidden files. It also serves as the central processing power of the IntraSpace. If you want to modify or extract from the IntraSpace, you have to access the core.

Cores are usually centrally located, and are not hard to miss. The core is often in its own heavily guarded room, and the core's room itself is high vaulted and empty. In the middle is the core itself, a floating piece of geometry that constantly shifts and fluctuates with information and code.

Actually accessing the core is difficult, as the cores are fairly powerful AIs that will try to destroy the runners. Cores can be dealt with like any enemy, but these creatures are dangerous. Not all cores are insanely powerful, though; accessing the core of a digital coffee shop will usually only take a quick battle or round of negotiating. However, destroying a megacorp or government core will be a drawn out battle that may result in some fragging.

Once the core is defeated, runners won't have long until the core's back-up systems activate. These could be alarms, self destruct systems, or even a full reboot. Runners have a limited time to access or alter the information they wish, represented by an extended Intelligence check. Weak cores can take up to 20 minutes to activate their back ups, while powerful ones only need about 1 minute. This is complicated by the fact that more powerful cores will need more successes on the extended check to get the information you want. Once the runner does get what he wants, it's time to bolt.

Hacking in the IntraNet

Hacking with your Avatar in the IntraNet is fairly difficult, if not impossible. What an Avatar does to an ExtraNet is avoid, destroy and circumnavigate malicious programs in order to get to data files. However, most items in the IntraNet ARE programs. The Avatar simply doesn't know how to infilitrate individual programs to access their source codes.

Well, that's not really true. Not all Avatars can.

Some very illegal, very powerful and very expensive Avatars exist, and they are known as Devas. Devas are extensions of Avatars, so you can have a rank 3 Deva. Devas can hack items in the IntraNet, and the hacking functions just as Avatar hacking. Some things are too powerful for even the Deva to hack, such as an IntraSpace's core. What is hackable by the Deva is up to the GM.

A Basic Hacking System

It may be no surprise, but I'm kicking around making an OSR cyberpunk game. Below are my draft rules for hacking, which involves hacking physical objects like cars, ATMs and so on. Netrunning does exist and will be covered later, but it will basically be just a setting change, not so much a mechanical one.

These rules are supposed to be both quick and cool. I like the idea of have your personal assistant jump into an ATM, swim through the files while dodging ICEs, and then eventually proudly announcing 2000 credits have been transferred to your account. It also brings in hacking combat without making it too complex. Originally, the Executables were going to be basically Avatar equipment, but I think treating them as bonuses is quicker and less book keeping.

Hacking

Almost everyone in modern society has a CompDeck, and you're no exception. Though most CompDecks are only used to browse the IntraNet, play games or other personal matters, you have tailored yours into a hacking machine.

Every CompDeck has an Avatar, a small helper program that represents that limited intelligence the computer has. The Avatar can take any form you wish, from a dragon to a businessman to a sexy lady. The Avatar, which rests or stands on the back of your hand when you use your CompDeck, basically performs the CompDeck's functions for you, serving as a digital helper and more.

Avatars are also the programs that actually hack the ExtraNet. They plunge into the ExtraNet, rooting around and fighting off counter measures to perform the task you want.

Avatars are based on their Rank. They are ranked from 1 to 5, with all characters starting with a rank 1 Avatar. The rank serves as the Avatar's health bar, the Avatar's hacking effectiveness and the amount of Executables he can attempt.

ExtraNet systems also have a rank that acts the same as Avatar rank. This rank represents the various firewalls, re-routes and fake files the Avatar must navigate. However, their health bar can reach higher than 5 depending on the system. ExtraNets can have Executables as well, but usually only half as many as an Avatar of an equivalent rank.

Hacking is basically a quick one-on-one battle between the Avatar and the ExtraNet. Unless the ExtraNet is particularly strong, the Avatar usually goes first. The hacker rolls a d6, and if it is less than or equal to the Avatar's rank, the Avatar has made progress in hacking. The Avatar deals damage equal to the difference between the roll and the Avatar's rank (minimum of 1) to the system. If the system reaches 0 health, the Avatar has breached through all the security and the hacker can manipulate the ExtraNet how he pleases.

Like combat, after the Avatar makes his attempt, the ExtraNet will attempt to ward off the Avatar. The GM does the same d6 roll as the Avatar did, and if he succeeds, he deals the difference in damage to the Avatar. If the Avatar ever reaches 0 health, it is booted out of the ExtraNet and the hacker is pinged. When the hacker is pinged, it means the local authorities are actively looking for you for the crime of "unlawful data manipulation." You should start running.

Be aware that at any time, the hacker can abort the attempt and withdraw the Avatar. The Avatar may have some scrapes, but you won't be pinged and can safely lick your wounds.

As both the Avatar and ExtraNet take damage, it is harder and harder to perform well. When damaged, your rank temporarily decreases to where your health is. So if a Rank 5 Avatar took 2 damage, you would have to roll a 3 or lower on a d6 to deal damage to the ExtraNet.

If the Avatar reaches 0 health, it's out of commission until the hacker can wipe his hard drives, restore memories and so on. The process takes about 8 hours, and afterwards the Avatar is back up to it's full rank.

It seems hacking may be difficult, but the Avatar has some tricks up its sleeve in the form of Executables.

Executables are small bonuses that Avatars (and hackers) can use to better attack the ExtraNet. They represent backdoors, trojans and malware the Avatar unleashes to get what it wants. The Avatar gets a number of Executables per day equal to their rank. This number doesn't decrease if the Avatar takes damage.

By "burning" an executable, the Avatar can do one of the following things

1. Instantly restore 1d3 health
2. Block 1d3 damage from an ExtraNet attack
3. Use the Hacker's Intelligence roll to hack, rolling d6 for damage. Backgrounds do apply.
4. Instantly re-roll a hack attempt
5. Cause the ExtraNet to re-roll their hack
6. Deal an additional 1d3 damage to the ExtraNet

Be wary, as some well protected ExtraNets have Executables as well.

Blitz Hacking

Blitz hacking is the term used when multiple hackers attempt to infiltrate an ExtraNet. Though one Avatar could hack the Rank 5 Megacorp Door Lock with 10 health and 4 Executables, it won't be an easy task. He'll need a little help from his friends

Any amount of hackers can work together, but usually 2 or 3 is the norm. There should be a leading Avatar, who actually does all the hacking, and the support Avatars.

While Hacking, support Avatars don't really do any active hacking. Instead, they can use their Executables on the leading Avatar, and they can also intercept damage. A support hacker can take the lead should the lead hacker fell, taking up the job of damaging the ExtraNet. Further, none of the Hackers are pinged until all the Avatars are knocked out to 0 health.

Be advised that ExtraNets can also Blitz Hack, with local ExtraNet objects teaming up to destroy a significant threat. It's not common, but it can happen.

Hacking Hackers

Avatars can actually hack other CompDecks. This functions as an ordinary hack, treating the opponent's CompDeck as its own ExtraNet. However, the opponent's Avatar will quickly make his master aware of the act, upon which he will probably draw a pistol and attempt to give you a second mouth.

Some New Races for Mutants & Machine Guns

Mutants & Machine Guns is a cool little post-apocalypse RPG that come in at around 8 pages. In it, there are guidelines for playing a few types of characters, namely humans, mutants and mutated animals. While this is cool, I feel M&M (not to be confused with that superhero game) can really wander into crazy post-apocalypse territory without really breaking the system. So below are some brief races I think would work out pretty well.

Mutated Plants - Pick a plant type (Cactus: gets Spike Growth mutation; Tree: Gigantism mutation; Mushroom: Acid Spit mutation; Flowering/Fruit Bearing: Enhanced Healing mutation). Rolls 1d6 + 8 for health and gets 2 mutations

Cyborg - Can install 10 TU of equipment into his body, representing cybernetic parts. Can't mutate, but can take up to 20 RP. Rolls 1d6 + 10 HP.

Android - Doesn't need to eat, drink, sleep or breathe. Can't mutate, but can take up to 20 RP. Gains 2 mutations that represent android model. Rolls 1d6 + 8 HP.

Endorsing Others Works!

Do you like Final Fantasy? Dragon Quest? Tales? Phantasy Star? Well then you might like this game!

http://www.inspiredpress.net/2013/06/16-bit-adventures-now-in-pdf.html#gpluscomments

Inspired Press, a indie game company like me, has released a beta for 16-Bit Adventures, which is an RPG that shares many mechanics with SNES RPGs, most notably the Final Fantasy series. It's lookin' real spiffy, and while the beta only has rules for 6 classes, the writer has said he has more planned, such as the Blue Mage, Paladin, Samurai, Ninja, Summoner and so on. It's lookin' pretty slick!

A Transmission

BEGIN TRANSMISSION

The whole world changed once X-42 fell.

Oh, don't get me wrong. The world was fucked up far before then, but that piece of space junk really put the final nail in Earth's coffin.

Long before the Fall, countries were at each other with the Silver Wars; cold wars over the control people had over androids and AI systems. However, this put them in mega-debt with the old 'corps who were basically funding their sad squabbles. When X-42 was detected, the businesses had to bail out the governments to even give them a chance of surviving. Pretty ironic, huh?

Then the Rush happened. People running around like headless chickens, screaming about doomsday and looking for back-up plans. The only good thing about the Rush was the sweet tech. Sure, the Silver Wars brought in Upgrades, F-Cars and the Net, but the Rush created Skins, Backups, and those Arcs we all get our vat-grown beef from.

As a last ditch, the shadow that was the UN decided to launch a fusion bomb at X-42. Big. Mistake.
The hunk of rock was originally supposed to smash into the Atlantic, probably not doing much. But when it
was blasted, boy did they regret it. What was once a 5 mile wide rock became thousands of cruise ship sized rocks, pelting the ground. Boom! New York, gone. Boom! Madrid, gone. Boom, boom, boom, boom! Cairo, Rome, Toronto, Shanghai, all reduced to skeletons. Not to mention all that nuclear dust. Wiped out whole ecosystems, and those survivors that got blasted became mindless mutants. Those that only got a slight dose became Psykers, like yours truly.

Refugees flocked to what remaining cities existed, overcrowding them and stretching their resources. World-wide riots broke out, and the governments put everything under martial law. Unsurprisingly, this made everyone even more angry.

That's when the Minutemen showed up in LA. A group of paramilitary and privately contracted soldies employed by Taipan Munitions, they turned their guns on the US soldiers. There was no contest, and the army was wiped out. The US wished they could retaliate, but their numbers were stretched too thin. The people rejoiced, and the Usurp began.

All over the world, influential companies started sending in their private armies to basically weed out the governments who were killing the people. Using advanced weaponry, such as psi-linked guns, power armor, combat drones and Frames, they were a force to be reckoned with. The corporations gained power, consolidating and merging until they became megacorps.

By 2072, 13 megacorps ruled supreme over the Earth. They announced the construction of Sprawls, giant additions to cities built by androids and nanobots, as well as defense matrixes to slow the oncoming mutant hordes out in the Wastes. They developed a universal credit system, the Omega chip that allows norms to become Psykers, they established colonies on Mars and Luna, they bred the first Ferals, and they even allowed countries to remain, but only on a symbolic level.

However, they were also making sure their investments were safe. Every street corner has a camera on it, and corp spiders patrol the Net constantly for any criminal activity. In a world of excess, drug use, violence, prostitution, gang activity and more can quickly become rampant as the haves seperate from the have-nots.

To solve this, megacorps employ "Fixers," (that's you and me) to protect their interests. Soldiers, hackers, psykers and more working for a few credits and an Upgrade or two. We are the front line of the megacorp shadow wars, always under the surface and in the grimiest parts of humanity. We'll have to deal with spies, mutants, cyber-horrors, gangers, cults and more. Still, the megacorps may not be the benevolent souls they pretend to be, but a job's a job.

Or is it? How much are you willing to lose? How much are you willing to sacrifice to "fix it?" And can we even fix it?

Who knows.

Harold Tanaka, psyker and exper agent for Alegdi Biotech, signing off.

END TRANSMISSION