Draught of the Wolverine [TL5+1] [GURPS]

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Draught of the Wolverine [TL5+1] [0]

 

This ‘potion’ is actually not supernatural at all: it is instead derived from a carefully cultivated species of arctic fungus that grows in the vicinity of whatever super-material or substance that allows steampunk realities to function.  Once drunk, the Draught of the Wolverine essentially permanently infects the drinker’s body with a stable colony of the fungus.  Regular TL5 science cannot cure the condition, but TL5+1 super-science or a TL8 broad-spectrum antibiotic would be able to successfully clear up the infection.

Continue reading Draught of the Wolverine [TL5+1] [GURPS]

Item Seed: Summary Folder for Department of Defense Briefing 09042016 [SECRET (GINGER RELATIVITY) Clearance Only]

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Summary Folder for Department of Defense Briefing 09042016 [SECRET (GINGER RELATIVITY) Clearance Only]

Oh, how this folder is classified. Not only do you need SECRET (GINGER RELATIVITY) clearance to read it, there’s a rather unpleasant-looking sigil on the front cover that will give anybody with even rudimentary magical ability the heebie-jeebies.  It’s not that it’d normally explode your head if you look at it too hard (it’d just knock you out and set off the magical equivalent of an alarm siren); it’s that the sigil is damaged, in precisely the same way that a grenade launcher with a misfire in the chamber is ‘damaged.’  The urge to dive to cover only gets worse, the more magic you know. Continue reading Item Seed: Summary Folder for Department of Defense Briefing 09042016 [SECRET (GINGER RELATIVITY) Clearance Only]

Item/Adventure Seed, Bob and the Button of Death

I was out of ideas.  So, BY CROM, I went out and got some.

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Bob and the Button of Death

You know that Death Box with a Button thing that was half-popular as an ethical question, a while back?  Basically, it’s the entire “Here’s a box, it has a button, press the button, you get a million dollars, but a random stranger dies” thing that you get when you don’t make philosophy majors go out and join adventuring parties.  Because any competent murderhobo knows dang well that the real answer is “Break the box now, before whatever screwed up magic that’s building up inside of it goes critical all over the landscape.” Continue reading Item/Adventure Seed, Bob and the Button of Death

Item/Creature seed: Weaponized Balloon Animals.

Blame this.

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Weaponized Balloon Animals

And that’s what they’re called, in fact. Even the official Galactic Patrol documents use an obscure phrase from one of the more accessible Ascended Race languages, which pretty much translates to… Weaponized Balloon Animals (WBAs). Basically, humans think that it’s funny, and the other races don’t really care if humans think that it’s funny.  Which is why any part of Galactic civilization that has humans running it will be overrun with puns… but I digress. Continue reading Item/Creature seed: Weaponized Balloon Animals.

Item seed: Mother Gilman’s Practical Family Grimoire. [GURPS]

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Mother Gilman’s Practical Family Grimoire

This cheerful-looking hardcover book [the title is usually abbreviated to “Mother Gilman’s”] is printed on remarkably stain-and-damage resistant paper; the dust jacket is still crisp and there is no indication of yellowing.  While the publishing information lists a well-known publisher and a publication date of 1964, there is no record of this book or the author in the publisher’s own archives.  Interestingly, the alleged illustrator can be tracked down; she will readily admit that the interior art is done in her early style, but she never drew anything like this and she certainly never got paid for it, either. Needless to say, there is no record of this book existing on the Internet.   Continue reading Item seed: Mother Gilman’s Practical Family Grimoire. [GURPS]

Item seed: The Broad-Origin, Radiating Information-Nullification Generator.

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The Broad-Origin, Radiating Information-Nullification Generator

This item is fairly clearly of Department of Defense manufacture, and intended for the field, at that.  It’s your standard nine-inch, ten pound cuboid with a handle, a pull-tab, one-time activation switch, and enough rubberized, blunt-spiked corners and hardened steel to make it clear that you could swing B.O.R.I.N.G. at somebody’s head and still have it work afterwards.  Which happens quite a lot, really. Continue reading Item seed: The Broad-Origin, Radiating Information-Nullification Generator.

Item Seed: Koreite.

I also got one for ‘plotonium,’ but that may be taking the joke too far.

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Koreite

Koreite (three syllables, by the way) is an ‘element’ that exists in universes that are at the outer edge of being habitable for ‘regular’ humans (i.e., us).  If sampled, it appears to be atomically equivalent to indium… which is absurd, because indium doesn’t glow blue and is toxic. Koreite is also incredibly more common in its ‘host’ universes than indium is in ours. Continue reading Item Seed: Koreite.

Item Seed: Platonium

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Platonium

This stuff can only be made in a particle accelerator that has been consecrated to the worship of Hephaestus by a priestess of the Cabeiri mystery cult.  Fortunately, there are any number of engineering fraternities that can provide the necessary personnel, which is one reason why the American Greek system continues to exist on the collegiate level.  The esoteric benefits are simply still too vital for national security. Continue reading Item Seed: Platonium

Item: Latvind [GURPS].

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Latvind

This rifle appears on first glance to be a Mauser Gewehr 98 (GURPS Hi-Tech, page 111) in pristine condition and with a TL8 variable-power scope (+3 to Acc) attached.  The stock is ornamented with stylized representations of e wind and breezes; the name ‘Latvind’ is carved into the barrel.  Any sort of esoteric scan of the item will reveal that it is magical.  Disturbingly so; magically or psionically aware people will come away with the accurate impression that Latvind enjoys killing things while at the same time recognizing that murdering people is wrong.  This is actually odd, for anything that might resemble a “Spirit of the Gun.”  Your stereotypical spirit of an item doesn’t consider it immoral to fulfill its purpose.  Latvind does; it simply enjoys being immoral.

As for its powers: aside from being a Very Fine weapon that does not need regular maintenance, Latvind ignores DR and halves HP when calculating cover DR for purposes of overpenetration (GURPS Basic Set: Campaigns, page 408) only. In practical terms, this generally means that a shot fired from Latvind can blast through a person and hit the one behind him while barely slowing down, and can easily shoot through regular wood or light metal barriers. Latvind is thus eagerly sought-after as an assassination weapon.

Interestingly, it never stays in any one person’s hands for long.

The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the In Nomine and GURPS systems from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.
In Nomine and GURPS are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games, and the art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy.