[Phantasmagoria] New Class: the Automaton (DCC)

This is a class for my WIP sword and planet/science-fantasy setting for Dungeon Crawl Classics, currently called Phantasmagoria. Theme-wise, I'm thinking Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy meets Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series, with a wee bit of Warhammer 40k. And of course, any genre that begins with science has to have some robots in it! This class is based on Marvin the Paranoid Android and C-3PO in particular, but androids in general.

Automatons

Automatons are the universal debris of ambitious magitechnicians across the universe, thrown aside once they realize someone else has done it before, and done it better. They are left to find a purpose and something to glean from their existence, without any parental figures to guide them. Some automatons form insular communities, either existing under the radar of larger cities or founding their own cities, while other automatons find a group that can recognize them for their talents, not for their past.

Automatons, despite being wholly mechanical, still have a few needs. They will need additional fuel every couple months in order to keep running and need eight hours of rest each night in order to let their batteries recharge. Additionally, the magic wrapping an automaton’s conscience allows mind-affecting magic to affect an automaton, regardless of their artificial status.

Hit points: An automaton gains 1d10 hit points at each level.

Weapon training: An automaton is proficient with any weapon integrated into their chassis. Automatons begin play with one weapon of their choice integrated into their chassis. Automatons do not wear armor of any kind.

Sociopath: An automaton can never truly identify with organic life forms, or ‘organics’, and for this purpose, it has a maximum Personality score of 15. The actual personality score should be recorded in parentheses after the modified score, like this: 15 (17), but for all game purposes, the automaton’s Personality score is 15.

Modularity: An automaton’s chassis is built to accept various modules and upgrades. At every new level, including level 1, an automaton rolls 1d30 and consults the following table to determine what new module they have gained. Ignore any results you have already rolled and roll again.

d30	Module Implanted
1	The automaton does not gain a module this level
2	Integrated weapon: Attacks move up one step on the dice chain with an integrated weapon
3	Reinforced chassis: +1d4 additional hit points
4	Armored plating: +2 bonus to Armor Class.
5	Targeting system: Attacks with any ranged weapons move up one step on the dice chain
6	Mapping module: The automaton has perfect recall of the layout of any building it has been in before
7	Nightvision: The automaton can see in the dark1
8	Vacuum tubes: The automaton has an eidetic memory
9	Spell repeater: The automaton learns to cast one first level spell with an effective caster level equal to one-half of their level
10	Rocket propulsors: The automaton’s speed doubles
11	Nuclear generator: The automaton does not need to rest for eight hours each night
12	Trash compacter: The automaton can crush ten cubic feet of loosely packed matter into a 1’ x 1’ x 1’ cube.
13	Projector: The automaton can project their thoughts or the contents of a holodisc onto any flat surface
14	Empathy unit: The automaton has synthetic emotions and their Personality score can exceed 14.
15	Medical synthesizer: The automaton can synthesize basic medical compounds. This works as the cleric’s lay on hands class ability, except the base disapproval rate is one through four and they roll on the Automaton Malfunction table.
16	Encyclopedia module: The automaton has approximate knowledge of many things1
17	RNG: The automaton can randomly generate numbers
18	Self-destruct: The automaton’s death causes a fiery explosion that deals 3d8 to all enemies in a 20’ radius
19	Navigations system: The automaton can adequately drive a spaceship1
20	Infrared vision: The automaton can see heat signatures
21	Jack of all trades: The automaton rolls a d12 instead of a d10 on all checks for untrained skills
22	Holographic disguise: The automaton can disguise itself through the use of an appropriate hologram1
23	Universal translator: The automaton can understand, but not speak, all common languages
24	Secondary processor: The automaton increases their Intelligence by three points.
25	Beverage dispensary: The automaton can create a nutritious sludge that vaguely resembles tea
26	Taser fists: The automaton can deal 1d8 points of damage with an unarmed attack
27	Luck siphon: The automaton can drain willing targets of their Luck score, up to three points per day
28	Fireproof: The automaton is immune to fire attacks.
29	Nanobots: The automaton heals 1d6 damage/hour
30	Roll twice and gain both results

1Consider this as a skill that the automaton is trained in.

Automaton malfunctions: Whenever an automaton rolls a natural 1 on any roll of an action die, they roll on the following table, adding their Luck modifier to their die roll.

1d12	Automaton Malfunction
1 or less	The automaton catches fire, taking 1d6 points of damage every round until it’s extinguished
2	One of the automaton’s modules breaks
3	The automaton’s circuits explode, dealing 1d12 damage to the automaton
4	The automaton’s gears catch and it cannot move until they are fixed
5	The memory banks are temporarily wiped
6	The automaton is infected with a virus; all dice they roll for 1d7 days move one step lower on the dice chain
7	The automaton runs into a paradox, stopping it from taking any action besides protecting itself
8	The automaton’s speed is halved
9	The automaton suddenly runs out of fuel
10	The automaton cannot hurt any intelligent or humanoid life for 1d14 hours
11	The automaton’s artificial brain stalls; making it completely immobile for 1d8 rounds.
12 or more	The automaton desperately needs an oil bath

Level	Attack	Crit Die/Table	Action Dice	Ref	Fort	Will
1	+0	1d8/II	1d20	+0	+0	+1
2	+1	1d8/II	1d20	+0	+0	+1
3	+2	1d10/II	1d20	+1	+1	+2
4	+2	1d10/II	1d20	+1	+1	+2
5	+3	1d12/II	1d20	+1	+1	+3
6	+4	1d12/II	1d20+1d14	+2	+2	+4
7	+5	1d14/II	1d20+1d6	+2	+2	+4
8	+5	1d14/II	1d20+1d20	+2	+2	+5
9	+6	1d16/II	1d20+1d20	+3	+3	+5
10	+7	1d16/II	1d20+1d20	+3	+3	+6

[KotR/etc.] Updates and Such

Firstly, I've decided that I will be submitting a 3,000 preview of Knights of the Road to Charlie Mason's The Wizard's Scroll zine! I should be able to knock that out over the weekend, and will be probably putting some additional KotR material in my (recently named) Extinguish the Sun 'zine, coming out at an undetermined date.

Additionally, I've begun to collect a few OSR tidbits and house rules in case I want to make a B/X retroclone incorporating them... There may be more news on that later, or not, based on how far I get with it. I'm also working on a DCC RPG compatible Spelljammer-esque setting that I should get more information on later.

[KotR] Driving Mechanics

This post is about how driving works in Knights of the Road, my WhiteBox compatible post-apocalyptic setting.

Driving systems, in my opinion, are always too complex in most RPGs, with players having to juggle several numbers just to make a U-turn. Because of this, I've decided to reduce any driving check to one roll. But, a d20 has a tad too much randomness for my liking, as good drivers should be able to consistently drive well. In order to fix this, I've decided to make driving checks use 2d6.

The most relevant attribute would be Dex, but I would rather use Wisdom as a modifier (using the to-hit modifiers for Strength). This means that when you are driving in dangerous circumstances, you roll 2d6 and add a number based on your Wisdom score. I do like even numbers, so target numbers can be 6, 8, 10, or 12.

Combat in cars should also be simple, but vehicles do provide additional protection when compared to regular armor. How I'm handling this is somewhat inspired by WotC's Star Wars Saga Edition's force fields. Each car has an armor rating. Any damage that exceeds this number goes towards the crew and reduces the armor rating by 1. Attacking cars is the same as regular ranged attacks.

Example: Alice opens communication with Bob via a sheet of lead bullets. She rolls a 14, adding 1 for a high Dexterity score, beating Bob's AC of 12. For damage, she rolls 6 on 2d8, which surpasses Bob's car's armor rating of 4. Bob takes 6 damage and his car's armor rating is reduced to 3 until repaired.

Knights of the Road Inspiration

Knights of the Road, my Swords and Wizardry WhiteBox setting/expansion, is primarily based on the following sources in media:
Movies:

• Blade Runner
• Dr. Strangelove
• Five Deadly Venoms
• Mad Max
• Master of the Flying Guillotine
• The Matrix
• Wizards
• Zardoz

Books:

• Tank Girl
• Railsea
• The Postman
• Dying Earth series
• The Dark Tower series

TV Shows:

• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
• Thundarr the Barbarian
• ThunderCats
• Xena: Warrior Princess

These sources of inspiration are almost exclusively from the 80's (Mad Max, Tank Girl, He-Man, etc.), except for a few outliers like the Dying Earth series and Dr. Strangelove. In order to create this list, I started off with a few key points (Tank Girl, Mad Max, He-Man) and started finding other sources that I had read or seen earlier and that I felt would be a good inspiration for the genre of game that I'm working on, like related cartoons to He-Man (Thundarr the Barbarian, ThunderCats, etc.), movies that had a more martial arts/cinematic vibe (Five Deadly Venoms, Master of the Flying Guillotine), and sources that had a similar setting (Railsea, Dying Earth, Wizards, etc.).

Now I have a list of shows, books, and movies that I feel, as a whole, more completely encapsulates the genre of game that I'm trying to reach (cinematic, post-apocalyptic fantasy with a focus on vehicular combat) and can evaluate my rules and game based on how true to the base material the game is.

Knights of the Road

Knights of the Road is my name for a minor wargame/S&W WB supplement I'm working on, that is trying to emulate Mad Max and Tank Girl in a fantasy-esque setting. Think WH40k meets Car Wars via OD&D. Hopefully I'll be able to post more about it soonish. It may end up going in that 'zine I was talking about earlier.

More Musings on an OSR Zine

I'm still working on getting an OSR zine together and have contacted a few artists about doing some art for it. If all goes well, maybe it'll all be together sometime next year. Format wise, it will be a 32 page, 8.5"x11", saddlestitch booklet published through Lulu and a PDF version through DTRPG. It'll probably have a polished version of the Troika! inspired RPG I posted about yesterday, a polished version of the LotFP monk class I posted a while back, and some other gaming miscellany.

And all of this is after I write the last bit for the OtSoG stretch goals and at least the majority of the DCC compatible version.

On Designing an OSR RPG

After reading Troika!, designing my own OSRRPG went to the forefront of my mind. So of course, after two days of work in my free-time, I now have a (quasi-almost) playable draft.  It basically uses proficiencies from Skills and Powers, random magical power based on IQ like AD&D psionics, and is around as rules-light as TBH/Troika!. Currently I just have to write all... 99 spells before it's playable and I can start playtesting. (Maybe having a d100 table for which spell you learn wasn't a good idea...)

Link to the WIP Draft

If I can finish writing the spells, play test the system, and throw a framework of a setting around the rules, I might commission some artwork and publish it, but that's a far ways away right now.

EDIT: After a long time brainstorming spells in my free time, I managed to get a complete list and will hopefully finish the rules skeleton this weekend.

On the Shoulders of Giants and Future Projects

The On the Shoulders of Giants KS is now in its last couple hours, and I'm working on that. I will be sending out surveys and finishing up additional text quickly and have a couple of other projects 'on the burner'. I have Bloodied and Battered, the Barbarians of Lemuria supplement I'm working on, a couple Swords and Wizardry WhiteBox hacks/additions, and some other stuff. Swords and Wizardry hack wise, I'm currently thinking about a Shadowrun hack (w/ serial numbers filed off).

On Classes in OSR RPGs

Every OSR RPG takes a slightly different approach to how they handle classes, from using the traditional four, to adding more classes, to stripping away classes. Personally, I like a nice happy medium of using a different four classes. For example, in my current Kickstarter, it includes four new classes for LotFP: the Conspirator, Corpse Worker, Prize Fighter, and Witchdoctor. This is because it was originally meant to be an entire rules hack of LotFP, replacing all of the core classes. In the end, I decided to just make it a supplement however. But making setting specific classes allows for the players to have characters that fit well in the world without being flooded with choices, in my opinion.

Inspired by: http://osrsimulacrum.blogspot.com/2017/11/classes-dismissed.html

[LotFP] Monk Class

I just read Qelong and wanted to try to make a monk class of my own so, here it is...

Inspiration: Kill Bill, Wuxia films, and spaghetti westerns
HD: d8
Experience: As Elf
Saving Throws: As Elf
     Unarmed Attack Bonus: A monk has a bonus on all unarmed attacks. This is one half, rounded up, of the bonus a fighter of the same level has. Monks deal 1d6 damage with their bare fists.
     Uncanny Presence: Due to a monk coming from far away and being raised in a different culture, something about them always seems off... Enemies facing a monk take a -2 penalty on their morale rolls.
     Brutal Assault: Whenever a monk delivers the final blow to an opponent, their player can narrate exactly how it happened.
     Defensive Stance: Whenever a monk does not attack in a round, they add their unarmed attack bonus to their Armor Class.

"He somersaults over the guard effortlessly before shrieking like a raptor and pulling out the guard's heart from his chest with his bare hand! As the guard slowly crumples over, the monk takes a bite from the still beating heart before dropping it on the ground."

In my opinion, this is a way to get the senseless overkill shown in many martial arts flicks without having to make the character actually overpowered, as well as giving the player a creative outlet. The monk is a lone stranger from far away, exiled from their home land. No one has seen someone else capable of such sheer violence and the monk will not teach anyone.

On a Lighter, More PbtA AD&D

After recently looking through a couple PbtA RPGs, such as Monster of the Week and the original Apocalypse World, and the 1e PHB, I see a couple things that I would love to rip from * World games for a AD&D retroclone/hack:

• 2d6 Skills: A unified skills system could easily use the 6-, 7-9, 10+ roll system from AW. This way, a small bonus has a large impact and it provides some narrative elements as the GM can use the at a cost of 7-9 to their advantage
• Playbooks: The real gem is playbooks as you can actually play an entire game of Apocalypse World with just your character sheet. Having a two page rules/character sheet for an OSR game contain everything needed for play would be extremely useful, especially for the groups where no one wants to read the rules. 
• Codified GM Rules: While not as old school in feel, having a few set actions to help a GM could be useful, although I personally would not include this in a game I write.

If I have time once I finish all outstanding projects, a PbtA spin on AD&D would make a nice project so I can finally have something I can play without my players dragging their feet and procrastinating before they actually read the rule book, and that I can enjoy.

OtSoG Kickstarter etc.

The Kickstarter is currently dragging along in the mid-KS doldrums but as it has already done so well and every KS tends to pick up in the last 48 hours, I don't really see any major problems with this. I am currently working on the additional material, currently clocking it at 11 additional pages, and determining what artwork I'll need. I just got a layout sample from Glynn Seal and it looks amazing!

On Evolution

My Gothic RPG has switched from system to system since I conceptualized it. It was originally meant to be a WhiteBox hack, then switched to an original system similar to 1e Tunnel and Trolls, and now I'm considering getting a license to use one of my favorite systems, Barbarians of Lemuria. Of course, I won't be able to get any major headway done until I've completed writing for all of the stretch goals on my On the Shoulders of Giants KS... but soon my precious... soon.

UPDATE: I can get a license to use the BoL system and am currently considering whether to make it a supplement or full rules set.

[KS] On the Shoulders of Giants

The On the Shoulders of Giants Kickstarter has been live for a couple days now and it is already over 700% funded and smashed through all of the stretch goals! Currently it is sitting pretty at $784 and 92 backers out of a $100 goal. I am writing a new page of material for every $50 above $350, with art and layout, and the final product will be available through CreateSpace and DriveThruRPG, in paperback and hardcover!

[Review] VSd6 Blood Dark Thirst

Explanation: Although I already reviewed Venger Satanis' vampire heartbreaker/homage to the first edition of Vampire: the Masquerade, this is a new version that uses his VSd6 system, which can be seen in his Alpha Blue and Crimson Dragon Slayer RPGs. I still haven't read VtM so this review is uninfluenced by how different or similar it is to that.

System: As mentioned above, this new iteration of Blood Dark Thirst uses the VSd6 system. What this means is that for every action you roll a certain number of dice based on how skilled you are and the highest number is your score, with multiple 6s only counting for attacks. You are skilled at three things, which you roll 3d6 for, you are bad at one thing, which you roll 1d6 for, and for everything else you roll 2d6. If the challenge is fairly easy, you add a die, and if it's hard, you subtract a die. If you should have 0d6, you simply roll 2d6 and take the lowest.

Character Creation: In addition to picking three skills and one weakness, you also pick three (out of 20) personality flaws, such as pacifist, insecure, and greedy, a name, gender, and age, and supernatural powers. All vampires have three base supernatural powers but there is also another lengthy list of powers that you will pick as you level up, ranging from changing into wolves and bats to telepathy.

Humanity and Health: One of the best parts of this system, Humanity and Health are how you track your vampire's physical and mental state. Humanity ranges from 1 to 6, with 6 being perfectly human to 6 being a horrific beast. Every time you do something especially inhuman, you lose a point of Humanity, but you can only lose one point of Humanity per night. This means that if you go on a nonstop killing rampage, you only lose one point, which in my opinion can lead to nice roleplaying as it becomes one instance of your inner beast taking over. Health starts at 25 and goes up by 1d6 every level. Vampires can regenerate 1d6 Health by spending a point of blood and Humans regenerate 1d6 Health nightly.

Combat: Combat with this system, from what I read, tends towards the cinematic. Whoever describes their action first goes first and you roll a certain number of dice based on how strong your attack is. Then, based on the result of that roll (taking the highest number again), you roll a certain number of damage dice to subtract from your enemy's hit points. It's really quite simplified and I enjoy the mechanical purity. Damage does explode, which, when you're already dealing a lot of damage, could be unbalancing but it can represent the bestial instinct of the vampire taking over. Also, all vampires essentially have cleave, so if they deal more damage than they need to, it carries onto another victim.

Blood, Willpower, and Bloodlust: Points of blood and Willpower both range from 1-6, allowing you to track it handily on a d6, although it is recommended to use tokens. Points of blood are similar to mana, allowing you to use supernatural powers and heal yourself, while Willpower represents a vampire's restraint. You can only spend one point of blood per turn and one Willpower per round and three Willpower per scene. Bloodlust isn't a number but rather comes into play when you're running low on blood. When you have a low blood, you roll additional dice when doing something. When they come up as 1s, you go into a frenzy, and if they are 6s, you have a critical success. The duality of this, in my mind, allows for players to consider whether or not they want to risk running low on blood.

Weaknesses and Truths and Falsehoods: As an addendum of sorts, Venger provides a basic list of ways that the vampires can be killed, as they are essentially immortal otherwise, and debunks some 'facts' from classic films and stories. I can definitely see this being useful to a GM.

Etc.: In addition to the mechanical side, Venger also provides information for blood bonds, or binding one vampire to another, mortal slaves, a few random tables, and a basis for a starting adventure. Because of the more free-form nature of this system, and the random tables provided, having the adventure as an introduction and set of bullet points is actually a boon rather than a bane. It lets the GM decide how he wants to run this adventure, while still having a list of things to fall back on.

In Conclusion: This is definitely a more free form and brutal vampire RPG than most, with a definite focus on animal instinct versus reason. It seems somewhat alike to Daniel Bayn's Wushu in mechanical and suggested style while staying far, far away from Twilight vampires.

Final Rating: ★★★★★

Update: I received a complimentary copy of the finalized Blood Dark Thirst for review purposes, so here are my opinions on the art and layout in the final PDF.

Layout: The layout is by Glynn Seal of MonkeyBlood Design, who has done artwork for a variety of Kort'thalis Publishing products as well as recently running a successful Kickstarter for his Midderlands setting. The background of the page is stylized to be blood stained and despite this, the actual text and content is still easy to read, at least for me. All in all, the layout looks especially good to me and the actual content really benefits from it.

Artwork: The artwork is from a variety of different artists and features a variety of different artists, and unlike the WotC Star Wars Roleplaying Game, this isn't jarring at all to me. Every piece showcases a different aspect of the popular culture surrounding vampires and someone's different interpretation thereof. Plus, one of the pieces, by an artist called Priest of Terror, actually did a piece with their own blood from what I can tell! That's the best possible (and metal) art style to include in a vampire roleplaying game and I have to give credit to both Venger and the artist for including this.