Current Projects

So I guess I'll do a small update on all that I'm currently working on, as well as how finished they are.

Psionics of Lore - I have to draw a few things, write an intro and some monsters, and that's basically it. It's about 95% done.

Worlds of Lore - I'm still in the process of thinking up the settings. However, Soulburn and Riftgate are playable, as well as the Spellsword and Engineer class (which will appear in the book). This is about 30% done.

Pulpwood! - Considering reformatting the system to d6 based, as well as creating codified magic instead of the freeform guides I've given. I also need to finish writing up the setting which will be included. It's about 60% done.

Basic 4e - Mostly in rough stages. I need to figure out how the classes and races work, as well as how powers work. The system will be based more on Gamma World 7e than D&D 4e, but it has promise. This is probably 5 to 10% done.

8-bit Retro Adventures - Not my game, but instead a cool French fantasy RPG that has a style and feel to NES and SNES RPGs. I'm roughly translating it to English, and then going back and making it sound good in English. The author is totally ok with it, so this should be cool. This is about 70% done.

Considering altering Pulpwood!'s mechanics

So I recently read the Retro Phaze RPG and the Final Fantasy d6 RPG, and I have to say, I have d6s on the brain.

Pulpwood! was originally going to use a d20 to resolve all its actions. However, I feel the humble d6 may be a better choice. They are easier to find, they are versatile, and outside of damage rolls, very few games feature them as the main dice for task resolution.

I generally find Retro Phaze's resolution mechanic more favorable, so I may just go the simple 1d6 resolution route.

I would need to reformat a lot of abilities for the various classes, but I don't think it would require too much work. I may also have to reformat how classes are in terms of skill points and possibly HD, but this is all up in the air right now

Review of the ZODIAC Final Fantasy RPG

So I've been interested in RPGs lately that don't try to emulate D&D or something else, but rather attempt to emulate the classic Japanese RPG video games such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Fire Emblem and so on. So today, I bring you my review of one of these games known as the ZODIAC Final Fantasy RPG.

ZODIAC is written by a Mr. S. Ferguson, though the project has been passed down to C. Bearden (as both are called in the credits). ZODIAC is a somewhat simple game system that pens itself as a game that allows people to play in the high-powered worlds of the Final Fantasy video games. The pdf is free and only 71 pages, so you could easily read it in a sitting.

The main draw of the system is character creation. In ZODIAC, there are no races and no classes. Instead, there is an extremely detailed power-creation system that allows you to make any class you can dream of? Time Mage? Sure. Invoker? No problem. Dragoon? Go right ahead. It's extremely easy to adapt almost any class from any FF game you can desire.

This power system continues into equipment, which allows characters to have strange weapons and armors in western fantasy, such as brushes or fancy hats, while keeping them on the same level of your Doomaxe of Kill Everyone. With this, you can make Relm all the way to Lightning with no hassle.

Characters are one of two things: either Tech Users or Blue Magic Users. Tech users build their own powers, be they magical, physical, or somewhere in between. Blue Mages get their powers from monsters they fight, stealing the Cactuar's deadly 1000 Needles attack of the Marlboro's dangerous breath.

Stats revolve around a point buy system, and characters can reach level 99. The base system is d100, and the actual combat and adventure rules only take up about 5 pages. The main bulk of the file is the huge amount of power options.

Monsters are similarly built via powers, and there is a neat little system to include boss monsters. The GM should allow a lot of prep time to build monsters, though, as they can both utilize normal Techs and exclusive monster powers.

What's missing? Two staples of Final Fantasy, Limit Breaks and Summons, are not included in the core document, though adaptations can be found on the game's website. The pdf also has no art, but the layout remains clean and understandable. There's also no included character sheets, though they can be easily found.

The only other drawback is that the powers are kind of intimidating to build. The actual methods on building them are easy, but the options are staggering and can give the impatient GM a headache. The powers all seem relatively balanced, however.

ZODIAC would be great for those who want to emulate the Final Fantasy feel without being restricted by a class based system. It's also good if you'd like to just play pure high fantasy games, as the characters are basically gods once they reach level 75. There are a wealth of options here, and this tiny little pdf has some pretty sharp teeth.

I give ZODIAC a 9/10. It's not perfect, but the system is fantastic and I love the primal, elemental based axe-warrior I made as a test character.

ZODIAC can be downloaded for free at http://zodiac-ffrpg.wikidot.com/

Worlds of Lore - Settings

So far I've posted two settings for my Worlds of Lore supplement. Now, you all may be wondering, what are the remaining settings gonna be like?

Well, I'll tell you.

My plan is to have between 10 and 12 settings, all of which either vary with theme or pure power level. Here are the ideas I have so far that are basically ready to be written.

Astoria: My own high fantasy setting, this will be a broader stroke of the setting than what Worlds of Lore was originally going to detail.

Runebreakers: I just thought of this one: a setting that is heavily influenced by Japanese RPGs. JRPG tabletop games are few and far between, and it would be great to see something new. I know I will have an "Esper" mechanic setting rule, for sure.

Black Maul (name pending): Dark renaissance fantasy ala Warhammer. Optional rules will include both sanity and corruption.

I have other ideas, such as a hellenic setting and a swords & sorcery setting, but the details on all those are foggy. Either way, I'm excited to create these settings for you guys.

Worlds of Lore - Soulburn

Another setting for you! Soulburn is a steampunk setting that takes cues from Etherscope, Iron Kingdoms, Eberron, Victoriana and Deadlands. It's a very cool and grim setting, perfect for heavy intrigue and high technology campaigns. The only concern is the Aegis; I'm concerned they are both too powerful and too limiting. Maybe that's good?


Soulburn

Ki'lari Greenwood was a low-level necromancer in the human kingdom of Gorin, a prosperous coastal country on the planet of Font. During one of her regular experiments into the afterlife, Ki'lari managed to do what no-one else could. Out of the ether she had pulled a pure soul; not a ghost or a spirit, but a pure and refined soul. Appearing like a green slime writhing with wraith-like faces, the soul almost bristled with energy as it laid in the clay dish Ki'lari had manifested it in. Ki'lari set a flame to the soul, and it ignited like no other substance on earth. The heat and energy it gave off was monumental, the souls screaming and returning to the ether, corrupted. The flame from just one soul lasted two hours. Ki'lari knew that she was about to change the world.

Now almost 200 years later, the kingdom of Gorin and the entire world is fueled by these "soulburn" devices. Engines, carriages, trains, zeppelins, boats, weapons, electricity and more are all powered by giant glass tanks full of wretched souls. People have replaced missing limbs with soulburn devices, and huge robot suits, known as Aegises, help in every day life. Society itself has advanced as well; a class divide has appeared,
leaving only the very rich or very poor. Cities sprawl both upward and outward, giant metropolis of brass and stone powered by soulburn. Culture has become one of leisure, and styles of art have exploded in variety. Clothes are proper and flashy, and fashion and breeding are the height of importance.

Not all is well, though. Souls can only be extracted from areas where they congregate in high numbers, and kingdoms are starting to go through terrible wars for the resources. As a result, xenophobia and racism have increased tenfold. To further complicate this, the souls that are burnt through soulburn go back to the ether, but they are corrupted and no long produce power. When the souls eventually reincarnate, as all souls in Font do, their bodies are corrupt and evil. These creatures are known as the Wracked, and they are becoming more and more common.

Will people use this new power for good or evil? Will it lead a new path to a bright future, or will it become Font's ruin? And if the souls are becoming corrupt, then who knows what is happening on the planes?

Themes

Soulburn is Worth Killing Over: Gorin is right in the middle of an industrial revolution even larger than Earth's. Their resource, the pure souls of the dead, is precious since the entire kingdom would fall apart if they didn't have it. People are going to war with Gorin, and vice-versa, in order to gain the upper hand. Some other major kingdoms include the orcish desert kingdom of Blood Gorge, the dwarven mountain kingdom of Steelhome and the elvish jungle kingdom of Queensreach.

Soulburn is Destroying the World: This is not on a purely war based level, but rather on the appearance of the Wracked. Their were always monsters and creatures in Gorin, but none we are bad as this. Wherever the Wracked go, they spread death and destruction, poisoning the very land they walk upon. The more souls that are used, the more Wracked will appear, eventually swallowing up the land. Now, some guilds exist whose sole purpose is to hunt and kill the creatures.

It is Important to be Proper: Gorin society, and indeed Font society, is analogous to Victorian England or Gilded Age America. It is a more proper society where pomp and circumstance is the currency of the day. Balls, social gatherings, art galleries and concerts are all the realm of the good living. However, if you are not rich, you probably live in the sewer or something close to it. It's not pretty, but it's a fact of life.

Nothing is Ever Clear: Gorin is a land of moral grey areas. Is it right to use Soulburn? Are these wars needed? Is the class system fair? Everything can be debated and argued against, but no answer can ever be found. This extends to characters as well; many often have a hidden dark side, and none of them are two-dimensional in any way.

Outsiders are Savage: In a world of war and high breeding, people become scared of other people. Visitors from other kingdoms are always met with suspicion, as many believe they are spies or infiltrators. Half-breeds are almost universally looked down upon by society, as many think their blood is dirty and tainted.

Races

Though the Soulburn setting is magical, it is not as highly magical as other B&T settings. Thus, very few extremely magical races exist in the setting. The most common races are Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, Gnolls, Orcs, Skits and Lynx. Automotons are also a good choice if you wish to have a robot race powered by soulburn.

Classes

Most classes are suitable for a game of Soulburn, but not all of them. Most arcane casters are magic-users instead of sorcerers, and the world of Font is devoid of psionics. A new class described later in this book, the Engineer, is perfect for the setting.

The Divine

Not long after soulburn was discovered, the churches of Gorin started to come under a reformation. What was once just a passing devotion to old pagan gods quickly became a widespread duotheistic religion. On one side is Polis, god of nature, light, animals, weather and other natural things. On the other side is Fumal, goddess of industry, darkness, death, knowledge and other "man-made" things. These twin gods are praised under one church, the House of Stars, but numerous sects and cults have branched off who worship one diety alone or even specific aspects of either god.

Aside from the elemental, ethereal, astral and shadow planes, the only other planes are the Grand Wilds, Evercity, and the Bleakness. The Grand Wilds, ruled over by Polis, is a land of extreme wildernesses and weather, full of beautiful sites of nature and destruction. The Evercity, ruled over by Fumal, is a giant brass city full of scholars, inventors and law. Both the Evercity and the Grand Wilds house celestial beings. The Bleakness is the barren land of the dead, a gloomy place where the trees are black and the ground is ashen. The Bleakness is the realm of infernals, the undead, and most importantly, souls.

Setting Rules

Guns are Allowed: Guns in Soulburn are not blackpowder, but they are instead fueled by soulburn, making them the only commonly-made weapon that are powered by the fuel.

Magic Items May Be Technology: When a TK rolls up a magical item, he can instead say it is technological and powered by soulburn. A wand may instead be a gun, or a flaming sword may have a small soulburn tanks that powers the fire. This does not produce any different mechanical effect, but rather a flavorful one.

Aegises: Aegises are large, robotic suits that almost anyone can pilot. Standing about 10 feet tall, they are mostly used in construction and heavy lifting, though they have proven themselves useful in the numerous Soulburn Wars.

Any character can attempt to drive an Aegis. When they do, they for all intents and purposes "become" the Aegis. Their size grows to Large, if it's not already, and their AC increases by  +4. Further, the pilot gains a +1 Strength bonus, not attribute increase, while in the Aegis (i.e. someone with 18 Strength would have a +4 bonus). The Aegis has a base movement of 40-ft, it grants darkvision to a range of 30-ft., and it can wield the same weapons, shields and armor that the pilot's class can, though armor must be fitted on the Aegis for a minor charge, usually 50 gp. If a character wishes to punch while in the Aegis, an Aegis' punch deals 2d4 damage. While in the Aegis, the character also gains a knack in Breaking Down Doors and Bending Bars. Aegises are airtight, and thus can be piloted underwater with little to no problems.

There are drawbacks to this; whenever a character takes damage in the Aegis, it applies on them, not the Aegis. If a character ever goes unconscious while in the Aegis, the Aegis shuts down. The Aegis also saps away the energy of the pilot; for every hour they are in the Aegis, they must make a Fortitude save. If they fail, they take one constitution damage. Some physical abilities, such as the monk's increased movement or the druids trackless step, may not work while piloting an Aegis, but it is up to the TK. Magical abilities, however, can be used while piloting, though there is a 20% chance that the spell will fail.

Aegises are extremely expensive, both to purchase and maintain. An Aegis costs 25,000 gp to buy, and they cost about 300 gp to maintain monthly in terms of repairs and fuel costs. TKs should be very careful when dealing with Aegises in a campaign.

Soulburn Augments: If a character ever loses a body part, such as an arm, eye or leg, some clever engineers out there have developed mechanical replacements powered by soulburn. These replacements usually cost between 500 and 2000 gp, but once they are installed, the function just as the old body part did. Further, the installation is so easy, there is no chance of failure. If you would rather augment your body with damaging weaponry, your character should the augmenter variant of the engineer class.

Explosive Soulburn: Soulburn is often housed in very strong glass tubes. Though they are strong, they are not indestructible  If a soulburn container is ever destroyed, the soulburn explodes with blinding energy, dealing 5d6 damage and dazing (for one round) anyone within a 40-ft. radius around the canister.

The Spellsword - New B&T Class

And now the other class! The spellsword takes most of its cues from the 4e spellblade, along with a bit of just caster thrown in. I see the spellsword falling into the same crowd as the warmind/paladin/ranger, which is a martial fighter with magical abilities.

Spellsword

D8 Hit Dice

Requirements

            Strength and Intelligence of 13 or higher

Armor Allowed

            Padded Armor, Leather Armor, Ringmail, Studded Leather, Bucklers

Weapons Allowed

            All light melee weapons, all medium edged weapons (swords and axes), all thrown weapons, composite bow, longbow and short bow

Skills

            Decipher Codes, Jump, Balance

Level	HD	Attack	Fort	Ref	Will	Title
1	1d8	+1	13	15	13	Magus
2	2d8	+2	12	15	12	Hexblade
3	3d8	+3	12	15	12	Palmist
4	4d8	+3	11	14	11	Spellsword
5	5d8	+4	11	14	11	Mageblade
6	6d8	+5	10	13	10	Augurer
7	7d8	+6	10	13	10	Duskblade
8	8d8	+6	9	13	9	Scourge
9	9d8	+7	9	12	9	Edge Master
10	10d8	+8	8	12	8	Arcanist
11	+3	+9	8	12	8	Arcanist
12	+3	+9	7	11	7	Arcanist
13	+3	+10	7	11	7	Arcanist
14	+3	+11	6	11	6	Arcanist
15	+3	+12	6	10	6	Arcanist
16	+3	+12	5	10	5	Arcanist
17	+3	+13	5	10	5	Arcanist
18	+3	+14	4	9	4	Arcanist
19	+3	+15	4	9	4	Arcanist
20	+3	+15	3	9	3	Arcanist

Spells Per Day/Level

Level	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
1	-	-	-	-
2	-	-	-	-
3	-	-	-	-
4	-	-	-	-
5	1	-	-	-
6	1	-	-	-
7	1	-	-	-
8	1	-	-	-
9	2	1	-	-
10	2	1	-	-
11	2	1	1	-
12	2	2	1	-
13	3	2	1	-
14	3	2	2	-
15	3	3	2	1
16	3	3	3	2
17	4	3	3	2
18	4	4	3	3
19	4	4	4	3
20	4	4	4	4

The spellsword is someone who has managed to funnel arcane energies through their weapon of choice. Their blades of flame, electricity, ice and acid shimmer as they cut through enemies. This ability is supplemented by damaging magical spells that the spellsword has access to at later levels.

The spellsword has a special link to a weapon he favors, as long as it is an edged weapon. Given an hour of meditation, the spellsword becomes physically in tune with his weapon. This allows the weapon to fly to the hand of the spellsword from up to 60-ft. away, which costs the spellsword his move action. Also, even though the blade itself may not have a magical bonus, it can strike any enemy who can only be damaged by magical weapons. Further, if the weapon is ever sundered or broken, the spellsword can meditate for an hour and reassemble the weapon. The spellsword can only have one linked weapon at a time, but he can transfer this link to a new weapon after an hour of meditating.

The spellsword, up to three times a day, can sheathe his linked weapon in an aura of energy. This aura, which lasts for 10 minutes, can be of fire, cold, electricity or acid energy. When the spellsword strikes with this weapon, it deals an additional 1d6 energy damage in addition to the normal damage inflicted by the blade. The weapon can also affect surrounding objects, such as a flaming sword igniting oil.

A 3rd level spellsword (palmist) can create a barrier of magical energy around himself three times a day. This barrier lasts for 1 hour, adding a +2 bonus to the spellswords AC as well as a +2 bonus to his saves to avoid spells.

A 5th level spellsword (mageblade) can begin to cast arcane spells using the same rules as a sorcerer. These spells are drawn from the spellsword spell list. Keep in mind that these spells are cast through the spellsword's blade; if his blade is broken or lost, he can not cast spells. Also note that the spellsword’s spells per day is the same number as their spells known.

A 9th level spellsword (arcanist) can establish his own training grounds. A spellsword who becomes a lord or lady attracts 1d6 men-at-arms per level, 1d6 first level spellswords who wish to train under them and one 3^rd level spellsword to serve as a lieutenant.

Spellsword Spells

1^st-Level Spellsword Spells

1. Burning Hands
2. Cause Fear
3. Chill Touch
4. Color Spray
5. Endure Elements
6. Energy Missile
7. Expeditious Retreat
8. Feather Fall
9. Grease
10. Identify
11. Jump
12. Magic Missile
13. Magic Weapon
14. Ray of Enfeeblement
15. Sleep
16. True Strike

2^nd-Level Spellsword Spells

1. Acid Arrow
2. Blur
3. Continual Flame
4. Daze Monster
5. Flaming Sphere
6. Fog Cloud
7. Ghoul Touch
8. Glitterdust
9. Gust of Wind
10. Hideous Laughter
11. Hypnotic Pattern
12. Mirror Image
13. Resist Energy
14. Shatter
15. Web

3^rd-Level Spellsword Spells

1. Fireball
2. Haste
3. Heroism
4. Lightning Bolt
5. Protection from Energy
6. Sleet Storm
7. Slow
8. Stinking Cloud
9. Vampiric Touch

4^th-Level Spellsword Spells

1. Bestow Curse
2. Black Tentacles
3. Confusion
4. Ice Storm
5. Phantasmal Killer
6. Shout
7. Stoneskin

Spellsword Variant: Gun Mage

Instead of fueling a blade with arcane energy, a gun mage fuels pistols and rifles with his magical energy, bestowing the magic upon his ammunition.

Gun mages lose their skill in jump and balance, and instead can wield all gunpowder weapons. They must make their linked weapon a gunpowder weapon, but it also increases the chances to reload the gun by 3 (e.g. 1-in-6 to 4-in-6).