RPGS – Page 179

The Lost Fleet [The Day After Ragnarok]

The Lost Fleet
[The Day After Ragnarok]

Most of the post-Serpentfall world has more or less forgotten about the Battle for the Atlantic. There are several good reasons for this: first off, that particular battle had been effectively over prior to the sudden end of the world, which meant that most of the heavy ships of the Allies had been already diverted to the Pacific theater — and that the naval forces of the Axis had largely ceased to exist. What naval forces did remain in the Atlantic are generally assumed to have been lost in the mega-tsunami that destroyed the American East Coast; certainly almost none of them later reported in. And, of course, the North Atlantic is now a watery deathtrap of rogue icebergs, expanding ice cap, and bitter cold. If any ships did survive, they would now be crewed by ghosts. Continue reading The Lost Fleet [The Day After Ragnarok]

Item Seed: Tertium Bellum In Caelo Polyporum.

Blame this.

tertium-bellum-in-caelo-polyporum-google-docs

Tertium Bellum In Caelo Polyporum

Tertium Bellum In Caelo Polyporum (“The Third War Against the Sky Octopuses”) exists only in palimpsest form: the earliest copy was apparently a 10th Century transcription of an earlier scroll. The copy was later erased sometime in the 13th Century so that the parchment could be used for monastery tithe records (modern-day researchers found it via a standard check for palimpsests). The records were eventually found, slightly buried, in the back of a natural cave in Spain, next to the remains of a trussed-up monk: both the remains and the bag holding the parchment had been covered with quicklime before burial, which ironically enough helped preserve the parchment itself. Interestingly, Interpol is still treating this discovery as being part of an open murder investigation, although that may simply be because even international police organizations are allowed to have a little fun sometimes, too.

Continue reading Item Seed: Tertium Bellum In Caelo Polyporum.

Creature Seed: Pollies [GURPS]

pollies-google-docs

Pollies [GURPS]

ST 20; DX 5; IQ 5; HT 40;

Move 3; DR 10; SM +2

This species is originally from a frigid planet with no oxygen in its very thin atmosphere, and covered with extensive but shallow seas of somewhat diluted glycerin. Pollies are technically amphibious; it is more accurate to say that they do not breathe and are mostly resistant to changes in atmospheric pressure. Modern breeds have been genetically adapted to live comfortably enough in vacuum; they are not suited for Earthlike conditions. The species is about the size and weight of a 20th century minivan; it has four eyes (two each, front and back), four mouths (one on each side), and a set of cilia on which it slowly moves around. Pollies reproduce by egg-laying; the eggs typically outgas a mildly disgusting smell to discourage predators.

Continue reading Creature Seed: Pollies [GURPS]

Item Seed: The Pravaz Syringe.

the-pravaz-syringe-google-docs

The Pravaz Syringe

This particular device is a masterpiece — a bizarre, twisted masterpiece — of 19th Century technology. To begin with, it’s titanium covered in silver, which would be generally considered to be simply flat-out impossible, given that the Syringe has been verified as existing at least since 1850. It’d be like finding a handmade automatic breech-loading rifle in Grant’s Tomb: a sufficiently brilliant and obsessive tinkerer might have made it, but why didn’t they make any more?

Continue reading Item Seed: The Pravaz Syringe.

Item Seed: Spear of the Holy Tent-Peg of Saint Deborah.

The stuff you come up with, when looking for other stuff…

spear-of-the-holy-tent-peg-of-saint-deborah-google-docs

Spear of the Holy Tent-Peg of Saint Deborah

Well, strictly speaking it should be the Spear of the Holy Tent-Peg of Jael, but from the Roman Catholic Church’s point of view St. Deborah was the ranking Biblical figure. Quick summary: Deborah was a prophet and a Judge among the Israelites in the time of the Judges (obviously), she and her military adviser went out to smite the Canaanites, the Canannites were duly smote, and the fleeing general of the Canaanites (one Sisera) ended up getting a tent peg pounded into his head by, yes, Jael. The tent peg then effectively disappeared for a few thousand years, and only resurfaced in the 12th century AD as part of a steel spearhead that is reputed to be remarkably strong and rustproof.

Continue reading Item Seed: Spear of the Holy Tent-Peg of Saint Deborah.

Magic-Focused Talents for GURPS. [GURPS]

I’m sure that other people have come up with similar concepts before now, but these are mine.

magic-focused-talents-for-gurps-google-docs

Magic-Focused Talents for GURPS

These Talents are designed for campaigns where magic is both real and at least somewhat formalized. The Fortune-Telling skill in particular here assumes that divination works. Also: while there is no reason why the Witch and Wizard Talents cannot be bought by the same PC, in many worlds people look oddly at somebody who has affinities for both.

Continue reading Magic-Focused Talents for GURPS. [GURPS]

Location seed: Bennett’s Pier, Delaware.

It’s weird, how easy it’d be to hide dead towns before Google Earth. And maybe after it, too.

bennetts-pier-delaware-google-docs

Bennett’s Pier, Delaware

The town of Bennett’s Pier in Delaware actually predates Kent County itself; it was founded in 1679. It was a prosperous enough agricultural and fishing community for virtually its entire existence, having neither major crises or notoriety. In 1940 the US Census for the town reported its population as being 2,341, which made it a respectable town and close to city by Delaware standards.

There is no 1950 Census listing for the town.

Continue reading Location seed: Bennett’s Pier, Delaware.

Had a game today!

None of us had all of the campaign notes, because it’s been a couple of months and our schedules have been horribly clashing. So… we had to wing it. Fortunately, at least two of us had already played 7th Sea, which meant that almost all the stuff that we were looking up was rules-related, not setting-related. It’s much easier to fake rules than the world, possibly because you can always say ‘You got away with it that time’ and it won’t really damage the overarching story.

It also helps that I try to GM pretty collaboratively. Which is ever so much nicer than saying that I’m a lazy GM who doesn’t mind it when my players come up with the sleazy rationalization on the fly for why something improbably happened. If you have players like those…, treasure them.

Blasphemous Tomes: The Cernan/Evans Transcript (Annotated)

Blame this, and particularly this:

blasphemous-tomes_-the-cernan_evans-transcript-annotated-google-docs

Blasphemous Tomes: The Cernan/Evans Transcript (Annotated)

[Delta Green/Call of Cthulhu]

Language: English; Mythos Gain: +1; SAN Loss: 0/1; Study Time: one week; Grants Skill Checks in: History and Occult

Continue reading Blasphemous Tomes: The Cernan/Evans Transcript (Annotated)

Item seed: Mechows.

You know that rule When in doubt, involve a cow? Yeah. Sometimes that rule takes you to weird places.

mechows-google-docs

Mechows

When Humanity first encountered the Blip-yaps in the beginning of the Interstellar Era, things went surprisingly well. Yes, Blip-yaps look like pulsating-yellow, diseased tiny cockroaches, and they have a certain, ah, odor: but Humans weren’t any more attractive to them, and Blip-yap currency spends extremely well on the Galactic market. Also, Earth had things that the Blip-yap apparently very much wanted to buy. Mostly organic; in fact, mostly complete animals of every sort (although fur and pelts were always in demand). Preferably live, and even the dead ones had to be perfectly preserved.

Continue reading Item seed: Mechows.