FASERIPPING into the Golden Age

"Hey British Guy, keep an eye on that Commie will ya?"

“It all started with Hitler.

Some Scientists say whatever was released by the destruction of the Valhalla Gate was around back in the day, they say maybe our myths about ancient gods are really just stories about old Supers…

Maybe.

What I know for sure is that before we fire-bombed the Fuhrers insane experiments, I couldn’t smash a Tiger Tank with my bare hands, and now I can.”

-Colonel “Crush” Taggart , The Liberty Squad 1945.

Particle Physics and the Nazi’s changed mankind forever.  In the late 1930’s German scientist, and Nazi Occultist stated a secret program called Operation Ragnarok. With the goal of creating the ubermench of Nazi propaganda, they succeeded. Building a device called the Valhalla Gate. The program was suspected by the Allies, but the existence of the gate was unknown. In 1944, British Bombers firebombed a German research facility and the Valhalla Gate was destroyed, releasing a shock wave of mysterious energy around the world. Thereafter this surge was known as the Valkyrie Effect. The energy changed people, turning some into Supers or altering the chromosomes of others so that while parents remained normal, children were born with superpowers.

At the same time, the US and Soviets were working on similar programs. When the Valkyrie Effect occurred these programs where unexpectedly accelerated or altered. Test patients, prototypes and experiments underwent radical transformations.  Some subjects immediately became super powered or otherwise altered. At Los Alamos, the Allied research project was quite advanced, and most of the subjects survived with sound mind and body. In the Soviet Union, Design Office #11 was in the early stages of research, and many subjects lost their minds or turned monstrous, fleeing into the Siberian tundra. 

The Allies and the US in particular were able to use the new Supers to win the war, with a newly formed super group , The Liberty Squad leading the spearhead against the Axis. The Japanese program was rudimentary and many of those affected were turned into hideous uncontrollable monsters. The German program while advanced was largely destroyed in the bombing of the research facility; a contingent of test subjects entered the Valhalla Gate and never returned.  The SS enlisted or exterminated those Germans who were changed by the Valkyrie effect. Mysteriously, these supers were not used against the Allies on the battlefield. When the Allies closed in on Berchtesgaden several rockets were seen leaving the atmosphere. Captured intelligence later revealed that the German Supers were carefully protected and left the planet aboard these primitive spaceships, bound for the moon.

By the end of the war, the US and the Soviets were racing to capture any remaining German scientist and Supers involved with operation Ragnarok. The Soviets successfully located and seized the main facilities of German scientist that were relocated in the East after the bombing of the Valhalla Gate. The Liberty Squad infiltrated this facility and captured the remaining scientist from the Soviets, these former Nazi's now work for the USA's own Supers program.  The captured facility still proved a great boon for the Soviets, advancing their knowledge of the Valkyrie Effect immensely.

The world is now in an age of Cold War, with the Soviet Union, and the USA locked in a race for global hegemony. The chief weapons of this conflict are The Supers, strategically held by the Powers as a mutually assured threat of destruction. In the USA, Supers are recruited into the ranks of the Strategic Super Command (SSC), although rumors abound that former Nazi scientist working for the SSC are breeding Supers designed to be unquestioningly loyal to the American Way. The CIA also has a small Supers Unit which traces its history to the OSS and The Liberty Squad. In the Soviet Union Supers work for the KGB, or the 2^nd Guards Supers Division of the Soviet Army.

The Valkyrie Effect

When the Valhalla gate collapsed, a massive surge of energy was released that altered life on the planet earth.  Humanity changed, with some people undergoing spontaneous transformation into what are now called Supers. Others remained the same, but gave birth to children who manifested Super Powers at the onset of puberty. Many Supers were gifted with intellects well beyond Genius level, and this has enabled humanity to advance science in exponential leaps. Unfortunately a majority of the advancements have been made in military science, as most Governments jealously guard and exploit their Supers, viewing them as vital strategic assets. The burst of energy also attracted the attention of others; Alien visitation to the planet has become increasingly common. Publicly, no formal acknowledgement of extraterrestrial life has been made by any of the powers, but most people have seen a saucer by now.

Life for a Super can vary greatly depending on their society. In the Soviet Union, Supers are closely monitored and become property of The Proletariat (the State) as soon as they are discovered. Disappearing into remote Gulags, or becoming members of the elite Soviet Super Army, the 2^nd Guards Division. In the USA, and much of the other “Free World”, Supers are still recognized as humans with all the rights accorded to them by their respective Governments. The USA's Supers Squadrons are voluntary, although propaganda for recruitment is ubiquitous. In the USA, “normal” folks have differing attitudes to Supers depending on personal experience. Despite the Governments efforts to make Hero's of the Liberty Squad, The Valkyrie Effect created as many monsters as it did heroes…

The Alcohol of Shulim

Rules
Alcohol has restorative properties. A swig of strong drink restores 1d3 HP. This may be done once per day plus an additional number of times equal to CON bonus.
Three drinks + CON bonus requires a Save vs intoxication or one becomes drunk.
Being Drunk grants +1d6 temporary HP , -1 to all rolls , and last 3d4 hours.

Jalool or Jal is the most common alcohol of Shulim. An amber rice lager it is consumed with almost every meal. Jal is made by commercially the Galmesh House in Sanctuary, several other farms and plantations around the city brew Jal for personal use and to be sold at market.

Jalesh or Jesh is a rice wine . Jalesh is “bottled” in 3 foot bamboo tubes with cork stoppers. Jesh is often fortified with spirits distilled from the kamkun, donga, and fig.

Rakka is fermented yaks milk, consumed from a goat or sheep bladder.

Mert is a distilled beverage made from fig. It is consumed from a shallow brass bowl heated over mertak a brazier designed for this purpose.

Kamurt is a distilled beverage made from Kamkun fruit which is similar to the mango. Kamurt is typically mixed with yak’s milk and is often consumed with yak cheese curd and fig for breakfast.

Dort is a distilled beverage made from the donga fruit which is similar to the pumpkin. Dort is often double refined to produce high alcohol content and mixed with sugar and a psychotropic herb mixture known as Oon’s Tounge, it is then drunk out of 7 stone beakers in quick succession.

Mert , Kamurt, and Dort are all produced in Sanctuary. The Houses of Galmesh, Tokenpol, and Salidani all run distilleries. Well to do estates and plantations will have their own distilleries and may sell excess to the market.

Red wines from Adia and Yarapolka can be found in Shulim. Adian wines are bottled in glass, Yarapolkan wines in wooden cask.
Samarajans do not export alcohol by law, and the Yebish favor opioids and psychoactive herbs not producing enough alcohol for it to be found outside Yeb villages.

Space Dwarfs!

Dwarfs

After turning the shoggoths against the Elder Race and winning their freedom, the Primordial Ones extended dominion over the entire planet. Eventually the needs of their antediluvian science demanded resources not to be found on Abbith, and they cast their covetous gaze towards the stars. The Primordial Ones created the Dwarfs to withstand the rigors of space and harvest the resources of the galaxy. For generations they were launched in rockets towards all observable asteroids, exo-planets , and other stellar phenomena. These forge ships contained clusters of dwarfs in stasis that would awake on impact and be genetically driven to seek out resources, extract them, and use the forge ship to send the riches back to Abbith (though not the dwarfs, who were considered expendable.) Designed to single-mindedly exploit the resources of anything they landed on, the dwarfs were physically bred for hard labor and wired to obliterate whatever stood in the way.

This of course led to the destruction of the Primordial Ones, when a fleet of forge ships programmed to return to Abbith filled with the mineral wealth of alien planets, was instead filled with the centipede shock troops of the Yekubians. The vanguard of a much larger invasion force, bent on the destruction of whatever arrogant race sent the psychotic dwarf ships to the planet Yekub.

After the destruction of their makers, hundreds of thousands of Dwarfs were suddenly cut off from the genetic signal amplifiers that gave them purpose. Some were aboard ships bound for distant stars, others in the middle of complex mining operations or plundering the ruins of destroyed civilizations. While others still were locked in genocidal battles with alien species.

Over the millennia, these isolated groups have formed their own societies with unique cultures and ambitions. Dwarfs may be found throughout the galaxy, some still packed into forge ships bound for an unsuspecting planet. Others have built advanced spacefaring civilizations of their own, and seek out the remaining dwarfs to bring them into the fold. While still others toil away in isolation, unable to shake the basic single minded purpose of death and extraction that is after all, in their blood.

Dwarfs are short and stocky, with overly large heads and tiny hands.  They tend to have hirsute faces, but lack any hair over the rest of the body. They have no sex, and are incapable of breeding. They can live for thousands of years, although typically environmental or mental factors lead to early deaths.

I surrender to the Thief.

Philosophically, I really like the idea of D&D only having three classes. I also really don't like the problems that the thief introduces into D&D. Such as encouraging other classes not to attempt thief like actions, and the inclusion of a skill system. However, I find that players seem to like having more character classes to choose from. I keep trying to convince them that the Fighting-Man and Magic-User are all that is required to portray any character concept, but I am perhaps, not convincing enough. I was also reared in AD&D 2nd Edition, and the proliferation of snowflakes is hard to avoid. 
So, I surrender to the Thief. 

There are two types of Thieves. The Supplement I Thief, who is physically weak, but mechanically apt, and in command of preternatural or magical powers that allow hiding in shadows , climbing walls, and backstabbing. And the Rogue of later editions, who uses her Dexterity as a lightly armed fighter. 

Thief

Prime Req: DEX

HD: d4

Attack: as magic user

Save: as thief

XP: As thief

The thief uses Dyson's 2d6 Thief skill system: https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/d6-and-2d6-thiefin-for-basic-dungeons-dragons/

The Thief has preternatural affinities  that allow them to perform almost magical physical feats while still remaining flabby and weak. In addition to the skills and abilities of the Thief found in Swords & Wizardry the Thief has the following power: 

Legerdemain: The thief relies not only on knowledge and skill to perform his abilities, but taps into a shadowy power. Once a day per level, they automatically succeed in any thief skill check.

Rogue

Prime Req; DEX and CHA (+5% for each)

HD: d8

Attack: as fighter

Save: As thief

XP: As fighter

Swashbuckler: When wearing light or no armor, and wielding 1 handed weapons, or 1 handed weapon and buckler, the rogue adds her DEX bonus to hit in melee.

Nimble: When wearing light or no armor the rogue may immediately leave melee combat when using the withdraw maneuver . (Alternately , does not provoke a free attack when leaving melee)

May use the Fighter Parry maneuver.

Dastardly: Starting at third level, the Rogue may use the following thief abilities as if they were a thief of three levels lower: Climb Walls, Hide in Shadows, Move Silently , and Back stab.

Charming: Hirelings and specialist cost half as much. Additional +1 to reaction roll when recruiting henchmen.

Armor

(The Fighter Ibungar wearing Yebish Bone Plate) 

Simplicity in RPG rules allows for more variation and wider use of the imagination!

From my statement of intent:

“I believe that an RPG system should be as simple as possible while still having the fidelity to convince its players that metagame and in-game choices follow a predictable logic.”

“I also believe that the more one details and defines mechanics in an RPG system, the more time is spent trying to use mechanics to play, rather than using the imagination.”

With this I mind, I propose that detailed list of armor actually limit characters imagination rather than enable them, and should be abandoned in favor of a simple three category system.

In terms of mechanics, armor should be defined by the following:

1. How does it affect life outside of combat (encumbrance)?  

2. What benefit does it grant to AC?

In terms of Fiction, armor should be defined by character culture, taste, financial status, training, combat strategy, market availability etc.

In OD&D , there were three types of armor.

1. Leather

2. Chain

3. Plate

Later editions added many more types of armor with different armor classes, purportedly from some interpretation of medieval armors, but the veracity of the lists are doubtful (most famously banded mail which never existed and one of the more common Medieval European armor types brigandine is not included.) This creates the illusion of choice, players are free to choose any armor so long as it’s on this  list! Having detailed list of armor types also complicates making adjudications on nonstandard equipment. If a player wants to wear some sort of chitinous carapace, is it closer to scale mail or half-plate? The list also have a decidedly western-European bias, which works for many D&D games, but requires DMs to create new list for different milieus.

The less we mechanically differentiate various armors the more freedom we have in narrative definition. Making the categories vague, even encourages players and DMs to create setting appropriate armors. Taking a queue from the original rules, we should have three categories of armor, Light , Medium, and Heavy.

Classifying armor into three simple categories has several advantages:

1. Simplicity. Less chart usage, easier to determine enemy armor class, no “munchkin-like” cost benefit analysis when selecting armor.
2. Easier to create encumbrance rules by armor category
3. Encourages the creation of armor types that add to the narrative of the game without requiring long list of dubious armor types.

The Rules

Armor is divided into four categories

None

Light

Medium

Heavy

(Note: these rules assume an ascending armor class system.)

No Armor

Wearing no armor makes most task easier. Arcane magic can only be cast while wearing no armor.

Light Armor +3 AC

Un-encumbering and allowing almost complete freedom of movement. Wearing Light Armor generally will not penalize any actions including Thief skills.

Medium Armor +5 AC

Specifically designed to withstand blows in melee. Medium armor can be burdensome and may penalize actions taken while wearing it, such as climbing, swimming, and sneaking. Thieves can only use the disable traps and open locks skills while wearing Medium Armor. Counts as an encumbrance point (using LOTFP encumbrance system.)

Heavy Armor +7 AC

Heavy armor is a specific combat strategy. The wearer relies on the strength of the armor to deflect and stop blows. It seriously penalizes most actions taken while wearing it. Counts as two encumbrance points (using LOTFP system)

Examples of armor types:

From AD&D:

Light Armor: leather, padded, studded leather, ring mail , scale mail

Medium Armor: chain mail, splint mail, banded mail

Heavy Armor: plate mail

From Shulim:

Light Armor: leather jerkin, Yarapolkan padded gambeson, leather harness, metal helmet and bracers

Medium Armor: Adian suit of scales , Samarajyan mirror armor, Yebish bone lamellar

Heavy Armor: gilded Samarajyan plate, bronze plate, Chintck chitin armor, Yebish bone plate

The Roton

In the centuries long war against the trans-dimensional cephalopods known as the Prawn, the Yeti turned their considerable scientific knowledge from sustainable resource generation and life extension towards weapons and war. The roton is an example of Yeti technical prowess, and warfighting technique. Operating via elementary excitation of superfluid helium-4 extracted directly from the pilot, the roton is capable of vertical takeoff, hovering and rapid flight including sub orbital and space flight. Originally designed to carry two traversable tellurium beam lasers and a squad of Yeti Marines, the design was modified when direct marine assault against the prawn was found to be ineffective. The Mark II roton was fitted with mono filament laser blades on the edges of the external eigenvector rotor. The Mark II was piloted directly into the carapace of the prawn in an effort to literally rip them to shreds. Many thousands of roton were manufactured, with several pilots distinguishing themselves in the platform.

Roton Mark I and II Specifications
General Characteristics
Crew: 1, + 6 passengers
Height: 8 feet
Diameter: 20 feet
Weight: 10,000 lbs
Power plant: super fluidized helium-4 extracted from pilot Eigen vectored to external rotor.
Lift coefficient: 0.0013
Drag Area: 1.2 sqft
Performance
Maximum Speed: 400 mph
Cruise Speed: 333 mph
Stall Speed: nil (capable of hovering in place)
Range: up to the desiccation of the pilot
Ceiling: none, though the roton is not equipped for reentry into the atmosphere.
Rate of Climb: 5000 ft/min
Armament
Mark I: Two traversable tellurium beam lasers
Mark II: Laser powered mono filament blades fitted to the external rotor.
The lasers were removed in the factory, though many pilots refitted them in the field.

Thoughts on OD&D Thieves

The Thief. 

Is the Thief a specialist, weak and awkward in physical combat like a wizard? Or is the Thief a agile rogue capable of holding her own in combat like a cleric? Supplement I seems to indicate the Thief is a scholar of sorts , a specialist in legerdemain and chicanery. One who has dedicated themselves to the skills of the cutpurse, burglar, and engineering to the the exclusion of  physical training. This is reflected in the d4 hit dice, and using the same combat chart as the magic user. Gygax seems to be saying a first level Thief has less skill than a normal man in combat. Later editions of the game have a different conception of the thief, seeing them as at least equal to a cleric in physical combat, with improved hit charts and d6 hit dice. Making them more akin to a shadowy assassin or ninja than the weak and flabby scholar of Supplement I.  

So how does one square the Thief's climbing and back stab ability with the d4 hit dice and weak hit charts? There seems to be an incongruity here. Surely the ability to scale sheer walls and make precise strikes with a blade are contrary to the assumption of the physical capabilities of the Thief as indicated by hit dice and attack matrix. Unless a Thief's skill is supernatural. If the Thief's skills are magical , beyond what is possible by other classes or men then the hit dice/attack matrix are acceptable. The Thief has otherworldly powers to rely on, the practice of which, or the dedication to , somehow exclude the possibility of physical training. 

This conception of the Thief is very different than what is usually thought of the class. It has the benefit of encouraging other classes to attempt Thief like abilities ( this is in line with Old School Play, where traps should be disarmed by narrative rather than rolling, and everyone has occasion to be sneaky.) 

If the idea that the Thief is using some dark magical force to sneak, back stab, hide, and climb walls is unacceptable. I suggest bumping the Thief to the Cleric attack matrix, and rolling d6 for hit dice, This makes them the dangerous rogue of later editions, relying on agility and physical skill to adventure, be sure to adjust XP accordingly. (Suggest Median between existing Thief and Cleric XP tables.)