Two New Monstrous Templates for B&T

Vibrant

Vibrant creatures dwell in planes of high positive energy, such as the plane
of the fey or the positive energy plane. They are often more excitable, and their
colors and mannerisms are taken to extremes

1. Vibrant creatures change their type to outsider, unless they are fey

2. Vibrant creatures gain a flight speed equal to their land speed

3. Vibrant creatures heal 5 HP every round

4. Vibrant creatures gain spell resistance 10% and immunity to positive energy

Shadowed

Shadowed creatures dwell in planes of high negative energy, such as the plane
of shadow or the negative energy plane. They are often grim and haggard looking,
and generally more coniving

1. Shadowed creatures change their type to outsider, unless they are undead

2. Shadowed creatures can blend into darkness, giving them a combat advantage while in shadow

3. Shadowed creatures have a damaging aura that deals 5 damage every round (Will save negates)

4. Shadowed creatures gain spell resistance 10% and immunity to negative energy

Blood & Treasure - More Sorcerer Bloodlines

More bloodlines, adapted from Pathfinder of course

Boreal: Spirits of the north, giants and sleet are in your blood. Your skin is cold to the touch, and you are possibly blue or pure white. You can cast sleet storm once per day.

Dreamspun: Your ancestors had the power to nearly transcend dreams and see what lies beyond the realm of the conscious mind. Your head is always in the clouds, and people near you have extremely vivide dreams. You can cast sleep once per day.

Maestro: Muses, spirits of music and sound fill your bloodline. Music and sweet smells may follow you wherever you go You can fascinate as a bard once per day

Martyred: Your ancestor paid the ultimate price for their beliefs, and you carry on their tenacity. You often carry a scar of the wound that ended their life. Once a day, after you are hit in battle you can attempt to make a Will save. If you pass, your next spell is twice as effective.

Verdant: Plant creatures, both intelligent and otherwise, are in your heritage. Your skin may be greenish, and flowers may just grow out your hair. You can cast entangle once per day

Stormborn: Spirits of storms and storm giants are in your blood. The air around you may crackle and your hair may constantly be blowing in the wind. You can cast shocking grasp once per day

Accursed: Your family line is cursed, either by a creature, a witch or some other damned thing. A mark of your curse is usually always visible, such as a sigil. You can cast ray of enfeeblement once per day

Aquatic: You have the blood of krakens, mermen and sahugin in you. Your fingers may be webbed and you may always smell like salt air. You can cast water breathing once per day

Arcane: The normal path for most sorcerers, you are trained in magic. Maybe you have the blood of a hag in you, or you just trained hard. You gain identify as a free bonus spell.

Rakshasa: The mysterious tiger demons, who are kind, cunning and ruthless fills your veins. You may appear slightly felinoid, are maybe your palms are reversed. You can cast charm person once per day

Serpentine: In your blood is the spirit of nagas, ophidians and lizardmen. You may have needle-like teeth or scales on the backs of your hands. You can cast hypnotize once per day

Blood & Treasure - Druid Terrains

An Arctic Druid and her animal companions

Terrains for druids have been an on and off thing for d20 druids, but I always liked them. So why not throw them into my favorite d20 game? These are treated like archetypes, similar to cleric domains or magic-user schools. I may go back and revise those bloodlines for sorcerers as well, adding more and stuff. It'll be fun to give all the magic focused classes some options

Also remember to check out Heroes of Lore. It has a bunch of other archetypes, including the Stormcaller, Titan, Shaman and Witch for the druid.

Terrain Druid

Druids are usually trained in respecting the various forests of the world, but some specialize in their home realms. Druids who specialize in a specific terrain can only shapeshift into animals and plants of that region. For example, a swamp druid could turn into an alligator or a stork, but not a bear or an elk. In exchange, the druid gets a special ability.

Aquatic Druid - You are devoted to seas, oceans and lakes. You are skilled in Swimming
Arctic Druid - Your domain are the taigas, tundras and arctic deserts. You require half as much food as normal
Blight Druid - Your domains are the pitiful lands ruined by natural or magical catastrophes. You gain a familiar as the Find Familiar spell.
Cave Druid - You live in caverns, canyons and cracks. You have a knack in noticing stone work like a dwarf. If you are a dwarven cave druid, you become skilled in these tasks
Desert Druid - From mesas to dunes, hot and arid lands are where you feel most comfortable. You require half as much water as normal
Jungle Druid - The dark and steaming jungle is where you roam. You are skilled in Tracking.
Mountain Druid - From highest peaks to lowest valleys, you jump between shelves like a goat. You are skilled in Climb Sheer Surfaces
Plains Druid - Savannah, hill lands and farmlands are your purview. Your land speed increases by 10 feet.
Swamp Druid - Murky swamps and quagmires cradle you in sticky warmth. You gain a +2 bonus to saves to resist disease
Urban Druid - A rare breed, urban druids protect the new "terrain" of cities, villages and homes. You are skilled in Trickery.

Spurs and Pig Irons - A quick western fantasy hack for B&T

B&T can do a lot of fantasy genre games with very little hacking. To prove it, I'm going to give you all a very small hack of the game that converts it into a western fantasy type game in the mode of Spellslingers, Deadlands, Weird West or Owl Hoot Trail. Not much changes, but some things do.

Classes

There are a few changes with classes, as well as some name changes. Here they are

Assassin - Now called the Outlaw. No change
Barbarian - Now called the Brave. No change
Bard - Now called the Drifter. No mechanical change, but instead of songs, the drifter uses elaborate stage magic, manipulations of fate and stupidly long winding stories to perform his spells.
Cleric - Now called the Priest. No change
Druid - Now called the Shaman. No change
Duelist - Now called the Gunman. The Gunman can take a light pistol as a dueling weapon
Fighter - Now called the Brawler. No change
Monk - Still called the Monk. As you will see later, armor is not too important in this setting. To remedy this so the Monk doesn't lose their edge, I'd change their AC bonus to be forcing an enemy to make a re-roll on an attack against them once per combat, with an additional use every 5 levels.
Magic User - Not needed. Book learnin' is for sissies
Paladin - Now called the Sheriff. No change
Ranger - Now called the Scout. No change
Sorcerer - Now called the Mage. No change
Thief - Now called the Bandit. No change

Also, if you have the NOD Companion, I'd recommend throwing in the Psychic as the Mentalist and the Scientist as the Gadgeteer.

Armor Class

In a world full of guns with 19th century technology, plate mail won't do much against a .44 slug. Thus, every class gets an armor class bonus that increases as they level up. All classes start with a +1 bonus at level 1. This increases every other level for the Brave, Gunman, Brawler, Monk and Sheriff; every 3 levels for the Scout, Shaman, Priest, Outlaw and Bandit; and every 4 levels for the Mage, Mentalist, Gadgeteer and Drifter. The "good" ones should have a maximum of +10, followed by +8 and +6.

Weapon Proficiency

There are a few new types of weapons, and some characters become automatically proficient in them. If not, they can still be taken later with the appropriate feat.

Outlaws, Drifters, Gunman, Brawlers, Sheriffs, Gadgeteers and Bandits gain proficiency with all pistols.
Scouts and Brawlers gain proficiency with the rifle.
Brawlers gain proficiency with shotguns.

Archaic Weapons and Armor

The most common melee weapons in the current time period are daggers, hammers, picks (light and heavy), handaxes, saps, whips, throwing knives and muscle-powered bows. Armor is generally out of style and function. Though you can buy any piece of weapon or armor in the Player's Tome, it costs double the normal price. Further, non-magical armor is only half as effective against bullets (thus, plate mail would only provide a +4 bonus against a pistol)

New Gear

Light Handguns

Holdout Pistol - 100 gp, 1d8, 25/200, 1 lb
Light Pistol - 150 gp, 1d10, 30/250, 3 lbs
Heavy Pistol - 200 gp, 1d12, 40/300, 4 lb

Heavy Longarms

Rifle - 250 gp, 1d12, 70/500, 10 lbs
Shotgun - 250 gp, 4d4, 10/40, 10 lbs

For every 10 feet beyond the initial range a shotgun fires, reduce the damage by a dice.

Handgun ammo costs 10 gp for 20, and longarm ammo costs 25 gp for 20

New Gear

Cigarettes (20) - 1 gp
Good Cigar - 1 gp
Excellent Cigar - 10 gp
Normal Dice - 2 gp
Loaded Dice - 25 gp
Holster - 5 gp
Playing Cards - 5 gp
Marked Cards - 25 gp
Pocket Watch - 75 gp
Booze - 5 gp
Drifter Boots - 5 gp, 1 lb
Duster - 25 gp, 5 lb
Hat (Bowler/Gambler) - 10 gp
Hat (Drifter) - 5 gp
Covered Wagon - 50 gp
Train Ticket - 25 gp
Riverboat ticket - 15 gp
Wagon Ticket (200 miles) - 10 gp

Explosives

Dynamite Stick - 25 gp, 2d6 damage in a five-foot radius
Gunpowder keg - 200 gp, 10d6 to a 20ft radius
Fuse - 5 gp, can delay a blast up to 10 rounds

Covering Fire and Pinning Down

In combat, you can choose to cover your friend's ass or scare the hell out of a target.

As an action, you can cover a friend for their round (as long as you have initiative before them). They gain an additional +1 to their AC for every person covering them. Covering fire costs 5 ammo

You can also pin down an enemy behind cover. If an enemy is getting pinned, they have a -1 modifier to hit for every character pinning them. Further, if they move out of cover, you can elect to take a free shot on them outside of your turn. Pinning an enemy costs 5 ammo

Magic Guns

Any ranged magical enchantment can apply to a firearm just as easily as it can to bows.

Changed the URL

Hey followers, just wanted you all to know that I have changed the URL for the site! This will hopefully not affect you, but I did it so I can put the blog in as an RPG blog rather than a development blog. Thanks!

Rad Cycle Road - An Owl Hoot Trail Post-Apocalypse Hack

I've posted about Owl Hoot Trail before and have lauded it's rules simplicity. So I whipped up a quick hack for playing Post Apocalypse stuff. If you want to start now, just roll on the GW mutation table of your choice and adapt; it's pretty easy. The easiest choice would be Mutant Future, using their weapons and tech items as well and just porting in the OHT system.

To change some terms, GUTS corresponds with GRIT, SPEED with DRAW and BRAINS with WITS. Mutations would work in that for every two beneficial mutations, you'd have to take a drawback.

Here's how radiation would work:

If exposed to radiation, you must make a GUTS + Toughness roll against a DC of 15 for background levels of radiation, 20 for moderate levels, 25 for high levels and 30 for ground zero levels. The frequency rolled is determined how close you are to the source. If you fail, you take 1d4 damage to GUTS (recovers 1 point a day). Every time you lose 1/4th of your GUTS score, roll 1d6. On a 1-4, you gain a mutation drawback. On a 5 or 6, you get a mutation benefit.

Identifying tech items would be a BRAINS + Learning against the DC you think works.

Origin - Waster (same as native), Sheltered (same as greenhorn)

Races -

Humans, +1 to all skills, extra creds
Mutant - +1 Guts, +1 Toughness. Free mutation sans drawback
Animal - +1 to choice, +1 Wilderness. 1d6 natural weapon
Plant - +1 speed, +1 Amity. Hardy 1
Constuct - +1 Brains, +1 Learning. Move 3/4 as fast everyone else. Can't eat,
drink or be poisoned/sick. +3 to fix objects

Soldier

Soldiers are experienced in all kinds of combat. They have a +3 to Toughness.
If a Soldier has a GUTS of +1 or more, they get a +1 to hit and damage with
any weapon they hold. This bonus increases by +1 at 3rd level and every 3
levels after. A soldier with a SPEED of +1 or more can make an additional
attack against an adjacent enemy (or one within range for shooting) if he kills
his original target. This can only be done once (no stacking cleaves)

Scavenger

Scavengers roam the ruins of the wastelands looking for junk to sell or artifacts to steal.
They get a +1 to Toughness and a +2 to Wile.  If they have a SPEED score of +1,
Scavengers get a +1 bonus to disarm traps, unlock doors and avoid detection. This
bonus increase by +1 at 3rd level and every 3 levels after. If a Scavenger has
a Brains score of +1, they can re-roll one technology roll every day

Scout

Scouts are the watchmen and pathfinders of what remains of the world. They get a +3 to Wilderness.
If they have a SPEED score of +1, they move about 1.5 times as fast as everyone else and they do
not go last in initative if they are moving (though they still suffer the defense decrease).
A third level Scout with a GUTS score of +1 may find themselves a mutant creature to train as
a companion. This companion increases with level like the Scout.

Medic

Medics are shamans, doctors and medicine men of the wastes. They get a +1 to Amity and +2 to
Learning. If they have a BRAINS score of +1, they can provide a character with 1d6 temporary hit points per day.
They can do this an additional time at level 3 and every 3 levels after. If they have
a GUTS score of +1, they add a +3 bonus to help heal injuries.

Psyker

Psykers are mutants who have harnessed their mental abilities beyond that of normal mental
mutations. They have a +3 to Wile. If they have a BRAINS score of +1, they can "boost" a mental
mutation once per day, doubling it's effectiveness. They get an additional use at level 3 and every 3
levels after. A Psyker also starts with a free mental mutation that doesn't count towards drawbacks.

Chronicler

Chroniclers are leaders, storytellers and bards of the wastelands. They have a +1 to Learning and a +2
to Amity. If they have a GUTS score of +1, they can give themselves on an ally a re-roll on any
roll once per day, though they must take the second result. This increases to two uses at level 3 and
an additional use every 3 levels after. If they have a BRAINS of +1, they can roll a BRAINS + Learning
test against a DC of 15 to see if they know anything about an area, creature or artifact regardless
of if they have encountered it before.

Tales of the Space Princess Sector Generator

Everyone's friend, John Stater, put out a cool little space game called Tales of the Space Princess not too long ago, a game somewhat based on Swords & Wizardry that allows for pulp space dungeon crawls. While fun, it lacks the second biggest part of any adventure RPG; wilderness exploration. And what's more wild than space? Below I present a simple sector generator that is kind of an amalgam of a lot of different space games but retains a pulp-y quality. The main game takes place in a quadrant of space, which is composed of 4 sectors. I'd say 4 quadrants make up a "region", and you can extrapolate from there. A galaxy could be about 4 regions. If every sector had an average of 6 stars and 6 hazards, that means a galaxy would have 768 notable things in it on average, which is more than enough to satisfy any game group.

1. A sector is composed of 5x5 squares, each representing a portion of space. To determine the amount of stars within a quadrant, roll 1d6+4.
2. Next, grab a handful of small objects like beads, coins and so on. You should have as many of these objects as stars you rolled. Place the objects in a cup, and then spill them over the sector map. It's recommended you have some sort of barrier so the baubles don't go rolling everywhere
3. Organize the objects so one occupies each square. These are the notable star systems in the sector. Around each star will be at least one notable and interesting planet
4. Mark the squares they landed on, and then once again roll 1d6+4 to determine the amount of stellar objects are in the sector.
5. Repeat step 2 and 3. However, if any of the objects overlap a star, that star is destroyed and the hazard takes over.
6. Now roll for the qualities of each object, system and planet
7. Do this three other times to assemble your quadrant

Hazard List

1. Nebula
2. Time Distortion
3. Space Monster (giant amoeba, space whale, etc.)
4. Abandoned Spacehulk
5. Asteroid Belt
6. Deep Space Station
7. Wormhole (comes in pairs)
8. Pulsar
9. Supernova
10. Dimensional Gate
11. Meteor Storm
12. Electrical Storm

Star Type

1. Black Hole
2. Dwarf Star
3. Normal Star
4. Giant
5. Supergiant
6. Brink of Supernova
7. Binary (roll twice)
8. Trinary (roll thrice)

Star Color

1. Red
2. Yellow
3. Green
4. Blue
5. Orange
6. White
7. Purple
8. Black

Planet Type

1. Volcanic Planet
2. Tropical Planet
3. City Planet
4. Arctic Planet
5. Desert Planet
6. Jungle Planet
7. Swamp Planet
8. Pleasure Planet
9. Rural Planet
10. Water Planet
11. Tundra Planet
12. Wasteland Planet
13. Prison World
14. Dwarf Planet
15. Gas Giant
16. War World
17. Earthlike Planet
18. Artificial Planet (Ringworld, Dyson Sphere, Torus, Seed Ship)
19. Space Station (friendly or otherwise)
20. Exotic

For movement, to keep it fun and interesting, I'd say that your ship can move one square per day. Using a wormhole only takes one day to reach the other end. Worries like fuel and provisions should not be tracked like resources, but instead be dramatically appropriate. Every square you pass through should probably be subject to a random encounter as normal (1 in 6).

And more Apocalypse

Have you ever played Dungeonslayers? It's a cool little fantasy game with a fairly simple system. Well, the game has spawned some spin offs including Gammaslayers, a post-apocalypse version which recently sprung up. The problem? It's in German! The solution/ I have access to Google Traslate as well as some basic university-level German. As of now I'm doing a rough translation, and once I am done I'll go back over it with a fine toothed comb and iron out any weirdness. As a sample, here is the introduction!

The End Times

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. - Albert Einstein

The post-apocalypse. Irradiated wastelands. Lost ruined cities. Plagued seas and rivers. The world and civilization is at its end. Water and gasoline have become precious. Technology is rare and barely understood. Mutation is ubiquitous. Noble techknights in power armor, mutants, deadly assassins, irradiated cannibals, unscrupulous bandits, power hungry warlords, lost junkies, crazy robots, religious fanatics, tough Tank Girls, brutal slave hunters, enthusiastic settlers and mad scientists all share this world. And in the middle, stuck between mutants and refugees, are your characters: the ones who want to bring order to chaos, or perhaps the ones who would rather search for power, money, sex, technology and knowledge.


Mad Max meets Judge Dredd, Metro 2033 meets Hellgate: Longdon, Blood of Heroes meets Waterworld, Resident Evil meets The Day After Tomorrow, Solarbabies meets Fallout, I Am Legend meets 28 Days Later, Terminator meets Screamers, and the Hunger Games meets Death Race. So if you want to spend your evening slaying mutants and zombies, grab a d20, a chainsaw and your power armor, and let's get started.

Ruins & Wastes Ideas

Secretly for a long while, I have thought about hacking Blood & Treasure into a post-apocalypse game, one that derives its roots from Gamma World. But the problem is I have never been able to figure out what edition would be best.

Generally, I'm looking for the more "classic" GW experience and no the ones that are shown in 5th and 6th edition. While both of those games are fine, I'm leaning more towards 1e/2e, Omega World and 7th Edition. But like I said, I don't know what to do

Converting Omega World would be easy, but it lacks some things I like about GW, namely a few landmark mutations. 1e/2e would take some work, and I might also throw in some aspects of 4e. 7th edition, i.e. the new one with the cards, would be insane and require a lot of work, especially trying to do away with card mechanics.

So what would be interesting? I would like to make it modular like B&T; most races are optional, and if there are classes they would be optional.

It might be easier to go one step at a time; I'd use basically a large amount of B&T as the base, throwing in new equipment, artifacts, radiation, mutations and so on.

It's all up in the air, but the main issue right now is mutations and characters. I feel like 7th edition is still very accessible, so I may go the older route, ripping character creation out of 4th edition while adding in robots, having an explorer class like in Omega World, and then using 2e's mutation list. It would be a chimera, but that's what B&T is